Department of Information and Communications Technology

Department of Information and Communications Technology
Kagawaran ng Teknolohiyang Pang-Impormasyon at Komunikasyon
	Diliman, Quezon City
Annual budget	₱8.29 billion (2023)
Department executive	Ivan John Uy, Secretary;
Child agencies	Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center; National Privacy Commission; National Telecommunications Commission;
Website	www.dict.gov.ph
Footnotes
	¹Renamed to "Department of Transportation"

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) (Filipino: Kagawaran ng Teknolohiyang Pang-Impormasyon at Komunikasyon) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the planning, development and promotion of the country's information and communications technology (ICT) agenda in support of national development.

History

Predecessor

The

Philippine Postal Corporation

(PhilPost) were also attached to the CICT for policy coordination. The CICT took over the functions of the Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council (ITECC), which was subsequently abolished through Executive Order No. 334 on July 20, 2004.

Restructuring

Executive Order No. 454, signed on August 16, 2005, transferred the NTC back to the DOTC. According to EO 454, the transfer "will streamline bureaucracy operations." While the reasons for the transfer were unclear, there were discussions that placing the NTC under the CICT would be a bureaucratic anomaly, since it is unusual for a commission to fall under another commission.

Executive Order No. 603, signed on February 17, 2007, transferred the TELOF and all other operating units of the CICT dealing with communications back to the

PhilPost

.

Executive Order No. 648, signed on August 6, 2007, but published only on December 24, 2008, transferred the NTC back to the CICT.

Executive Order No. 780, signed on January 29, 2009, transferred the TELOF and all other operating units of the DOTC dealing with communications back to the CICT, thereby returning the CICT to its original composition.

Initial efforts

Several bills in the

executive department. In the House of Representatives, a consolidated bill, House Bill No. 4300, was approved on third and final reading on August 5, 2008, and transmitted to the Senate

on August 11, 2008.

In the Senate, a consolidated bill, Senate Bill No. 2546, was approved by the Senate Committee on Science and Technology on August 19, 2008, but had not made it past second reading by the time Congress adjourned session on February 5, 2010, which means the bill is as good as dead. It will have to be refiled in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the next Congress. With the failure of Congress to pass the DICT Bill, the legal basis of the CICT remains an executive order, which means the next President can abolish the CICT.

Executive Order No. 47 was signed by President Benigno Aquino III on June 23, 2011.^[3] The order states that: "Reorganizing, renaming and transferring the Commission on Information and Communications Technology and its attached agencies to the Department of Science and Technology, directing the implementation thereof and for other purposes." Furthermore, "the positions of Chairman and Commissioners of the CICT are hereby abolished."^[3] The BPO stakeholders were surprised with the order and unhappy with the change.^[4]

Creation

The law creating the DICT,

Republic Act No. 10844 or "An Act Creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology", was signed on May 20, 2016, during the administration of President Aquino III.^[5] Several agencies from other executive departments, notably from the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), dealing with communications functions and responsibilities will either be abolished or transferred to the newly created department. The DOTC will then be renamed "Department of Transportation." The law provides for a 6-month transition period “for the full implementation of the transfer of functions, assets and personnel.”^[6] The law took effect on June 9, 2016, which marked the establishment of the DICT.^[1]

Abolished agencies

The functions of the following government agencies have been transferred to the DICT:

All operating units of the DOTC with functions and responsibilities dealing with communications
Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO)
National Computer Center (NCC)
National Computer Institute (NCI)
National Telecommunications Training Institute (NTTI)
Telecommunications Office (TELOF)

List of secretaries of information and communications technology

Agencies

Attached agencies

The following agencies are attached to the DICT for purposes of policy and program coordination:

Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC)
National Privacy Commission (NPC)
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)

Organizational Structure

The Department is currently headed by a Secretary with a following Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries:

Undersecretary for Special Concerns
Undersecretary for Internal and Legacy Systems
Undersecretary for Infrastructure Management and Support Services
Undersecretary for Free WiFi and National Broadband Implementation
Undersecretary for e-Government
Undersecretary for ICT Industry Development
Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Foreign Relations
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Procurement
Assistant Secretary for Regional Development
Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Upskilling
Assistant Secretary for Free WiFi and National Broadband Implementation
Assistant Secretary for Consumer Protection
Assistant Secretary for Administration and Finance
Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Development and Management
Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs

References

^ ^a ^b "Department of ICT Law takes effect Today | DICT". Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
^ XV. Department of Information and Communication Technology A. Office of the Secretary
^ ^a ^b "Executive Order No. 47, s. 2011". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. June 23, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
^ "Statement by IT-BPO Industry Associations on Executive Order 47 and the Department of ICT Bill". Archived from the original on September 11, 2011.
^ Sabillo, Kristine Angeli (May 23, 2016). "Dep't of Information and Communications Technology created". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
^ "DICT law finally signed; DOTC to become simply transportation department". Interaksyon.com. May 23, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2016.

Media related to Department of Information and Communications Technology (Philippines) at Wikimedia Commons

[icto.dost.gov.ph-1] "Department of ICT Law takes effect Today | DICT". Archived from the original on July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.

[GAAFY2023-2] XV. Department of Information and Communication Technology A. Office of the Secretary

[eo47-3] "Executive Order No. 47, s. 2011". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. June 23, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.

[4] "Statement by IT-BPO Industry Associations on Executive Order 47 and the Department of ICT Bill". Archived from the original on September 11, 2011.

[5] Sabillo, Kristine Angeli (May 23, 2016). "Dep't of Information and Communications Technology created". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 23, 2016.

[6] "DICT law finally signed; DOTC to become simply transportation department". Interaksyon.com. May 23, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2016.

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