Bill creating ICT Dep't now in Senate's hands -Angara

Saying the ball is now in the Senate's court, a senator urged his colleagues anew to pass a measure creating a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) upon the resumption of Congress in January.

 

Sen. Edgardo Angara noted the House of Representatives passed a similar measure (House Bill No. 4667) shortly before the holiday break.

 

“Now we must urge our colleagues in the Senate to do the same with our counterpart DICT bill. The booming ICT industry in the Philippines needs a governing body to oversee, manage and regulate it,” said Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Science and Technology.

 

Both houses of Congress resume session January 16 to March 23, but the Senate by then would be handling the impeachment case of Chief Justice Renato Corona as senator-judges.

 

The Senate leadership had said it would schedule lawmaking activities in the morning, and the trial in the afternoon.

 

Angara noted his bill creating the DICT - Senate Bill No. 50 - was almost passed on the third reading in the Senate.

 

If passed into law, the bill would create the DICT that would assume the communications-related responsibilities of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

 

Angara had sponsored the DICT Bill in September, explaining the urgent need for the measure.

 

“We must ensure the continued growth of this industry. We must avoid sending wrong signals to investors by moving quickly and providing a strategic direction and stability for this sector,” he said. — TJD, GMA News