Philippines Responding to the Challenge of the Digitized Society

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Philippines Responding to the Challenge of the
Digitized Society

• Janette Toral
• Philippine Internet Commerce Society
• DigitalFilipino.com

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The Philippines?

• Strategic geographical location, time zone allows
  24 hour work shift
• Strong government and industry support
• Competing to become the preferred location for
  global outsourced service provision
• Excellent US track record

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The Filipino

• Majority of the population speaks English, almost
  everyone can understand English
• English is one of 2 official languages
• English is medium of instruction from primary
  level up to post-graduate level
• Educational system was originally set up by the
  US government, and continues to follow the US
  system

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RP As Worlds Top IT Source
Source Manila Standard, July 14, 2000
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(No Transcript)
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REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8792
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE RECOGNITION AND USE OF
ELECTRONIC COMMERCIAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL TRANSACTI
ONS, PENALTIES FOR UNLAWFUL USE THEREOF, AND
OTHER PENALTIES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled
SECTION 1 Short Title. - This Act shall be known
and cited as the Electronic Commerce
Act.
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Salient features

• legal recognition of electronic documents,
  electronic data messages, and electronic
  signatures
• guidelines for retention and storage of documents
  in electronic form
• recognition and validity of electronic contracts
  
• guidelines for use of transport documents in
  carriage of goods
• a 2-year mandate for government to have the
  capability to transact its business
  electronically

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Salient features

• the directive for the Department of Trade and
  Industry to function as the countrys e-commerce
  authority
• the penalties to crimes such as hacking,
  cracking, and piracy offenses
• made banking transactions done through ATM
  switching networks absolute once consummated
• parties are given the right to choose the type
  and level of security methods that suit their
  needs

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Salient features

• mandates RPWeb, a strategy that intends to
  connect all government offices to the Internet
  and provide universal access to the general
  public, to be implemented
• made cable, broadcast, and wireless physical
  infrastructure within the activity of
  telecommunications
• provided guidelines as to when a service provider
  can be liable
• all existing laws such as the Consumer Act of the
  Philippines also applies to e-commerce
  transactions.

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E-Government

• E-Filing
• Create, accept, and retain electronic documents.
• E-Permit
• Accept application and issue permits, licenses,
  etc. in electronic form
• E-Payment
• Accept payment and issue receipts in electronic
  form.

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E-Government

• Technology Neutrality
• Interoperability
• Community Impact
• Elimination of Red Tape
• Relevance to its constituency
• Security Measures
• Sustainability
• Application Usability

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E-Filing

• E-Reklamo
• SSSText and SSS Web Online Inquiry
• TIN Verification System
• Phil-JobNet
• B2BPriceNow.com
• Passport Direct
• University of the Philippines Open University
• SEC iRegister

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E-Payment

• SSSNet
• SSS Auto-Debit Arrangement
• Electronic Filing and Payment System
• E-Census

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E-Commerce in the Philippines

• 7 Internet payment gateways
• 7 major B2B portals
• Maturing B2C sites (around 10)
• E-Travel growing
• E-Banking (6 leading)
• E-Learning gaining acceptance

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e-Commerce Challenges

• Need to develop higher-end skills in e-commerce
• Need to develop more local expertise in
  e-commerce security
• Need for more banking reforms.

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Internet Situation

• Close to 1000 local websites having its own
  top-level domain name.
• Varying figures on the number of Internet users.
• Our estimate is at 3.5 million this year.
  Includes school, office, and Internet café users
• 191 Internet Service Providers
• 5 Internet Data Centers
• 363 National Government Agencies Online.

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Philippines Wireless Situation

• Dubbed as the text messaging capital of the
  world. Over 200 million SMS sent through the
  country's mobile networks everyday.
• 13 million mobile phone users.
• Filipinos have become more emotionally attached
  to the mobile communication device.

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The Power of Wireless

• Wireless technologies has helped bridged the
  digital divide in the country.
• Made Filipinos technology appreciative and
  created opportunities for young developers.

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Four challenges moving forward

• Too much SMS!
• New vs. Current Technologies
• The Telcos Walled Garden Approach
• Expansion outside the Philippines

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Outsourcing Initiatives

• E-Services Hub of Asia
• Software Development
• Call Center
• Medical Transcription
• Shared Services/Back-Office
• Animation

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IT-enabled Services

• The Philippines is significant destination for
  outsource service operations from
• United States
• Japan
• Europe
• large pool of educated English-speaking and
  culturally adaptable workers
• lower cost of doing business in the Philippines
• large time zone difference from the US and
  European markets

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Knowledge Workers

• skilled labor force of 29 million
• 350,000 yearly university graduates
• 25,000 get ICT-related degrees
• 100,000 get degrees in commerce or business
  administration
• need to upgrade the level of education and
  training to make them more responsive to the
  current needs of industry

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Networks of Computer Colleges

• large network of private ICT training centers and
  technical colleges
• The Philippines is the second among Asian
  countries in terms of the largest number of
  training facilities for computer programming and
  computer-related courses.
• Challenges
• Need to upgrade teaching standards
• Need to invest more on faculty development
• Need for academic exchange programs

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Technical Skills Development Authority (TESDA)

• Medium level to lower level skills in IT
• Large network of affiliate technical colleges
• Challenges
• Need to make their programs more attractive to
  better quality students
• Need to establish a good tract record in getting
  its IT graduates employed.

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Open Source Software Development

• Promotion of Open Source paradigm
• more training programs in Linux and PosgreSQL
• actively develop open source solutions for the
  government

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IT Skills Building in Schools

• IT Literacy at both the elementary school and
  high school levels
• Improvement of Curricula for IT at elementary
  school and high school levels
• Java Training Program for students in select High
  Schools
• More high schools as CISCO Networking Local
  Academies
• Challenge
• Training of High School Teachers

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Content Development

• Need for more content for
• Urban Poor
• Farmers
• Fisherfolks
• Tribal Filipinos

• Need for more content in
• Tagalog
• Cebuano
• Ilongo
• Ilocano
• Other Filipino languages

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Bridging the Digital Divide

• Areas of Focus
• Human Resources Development
• Infrastructure Development
• Computer Literacy for Development
• Information Technology and e-Commerce for
  Development
• Content and Technology for the Less Privileged

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Bridging the Digital Divide

• need to implement projects that would bring
  practical benefits to the wider segments of the
  population
• need to ensure that opportunities created by the
  new economy are properly taken advantage of.
• distance education
• content creation
• appropriate technology development

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Human Capacity Building

• Virtual Center for Technology Innovation in
  Information Technology
• PCs for High School Project
• APEC E-Commerce Skills Standards Project workshop
• Philippine Schools Cyberfair Project

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PCs for High School Project

• This Department of Trade and Industry project
  intends to equip 1000 public high schools
  nationwide with computers, printers, and modem
  that the teachers and students can use.
• There are 7509 high schools nationwide. 4336 are
  public or government-run.

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Philippine Schools Cyberfair Project

• On its 2nd year, this PICS project intends to
  recognize elementary and high school institutions
  that produces a website that tells a story about
  people or programs in their local community.

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Virtual Center for Technology Innovation in
Information Technology (VCTI-IT)

• Project funded by the
• Department of Science and Technology
• (DOST)
• Training and Certification Program
• e-Learning
• IT Innovation

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Certification Program

• From consultations and surveys (ITFP, IT business
  sector etc..), three major courses for
  certification have been identified
• computer networking
• database systems
• Internet software development
• Based on this, the following certification
  programs have been included
• Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA)
• Oracle Certified Professional (OCP)
• Sun Certification for Java Programmer (SCJP)
• Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
• C Programming
• UML
• XML

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• An initiative that takes into consideration the
  valuable work already undertaken by the APEC
  itself and related APEC fora in the area of
  e-commerce.
• The development of human capital is one of the
  highest priorities identified by the APEC leaders
  in helping to achieve the key aim in APEC of
  liberalizing trade in goods and services.

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Knowledge Management (8 standards)
• Software Development (20 standards)
• Website Development and Maintenance (23
  standards)
• Order Fulfillment (9 standards)
• Marketing (6 standards)
• Networking Technologies (12 standards)
• Outsourcing (4 standards)
• Project Management (3 standards)

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Knowledge Management
• APEC EC SS 114 Design a physical database
• APEC EC SS 119 Build a database
• APEC EC SS 110 Develop a data warehouse
• APEC EC SS 137 Model data objects
• APEC EC SS 138 Model data processes
• APEC EC SS 154 Monitor and maintain knowledge
  management system
• APEC EC SS 173 Administer a database
• APEC EC SS 181 Undertake database backup and
  recovery

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Software Development
• APEC EC SS 125 Establish and document business
  requirements
• APEC EC SS 116 Implement process re-engineering
  plan
• APEC EC SS 120 Plan and implement quality
  assurance process
• APEC EC SS 127 Implement risk management
  processes
• APEC EC SS 141 Develop Input/ output
  requirements based on business needs
• APEC EC SS 147 Maintain information standards

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Software Development
• APEC EC SS 153 Prepare technical documentation
• APEC EC SS 152 Manage the testing process
• APEC EC SS 165 Manage online inventory
• APEC EC SS 157 Develop configuration management
  processes
• APEC EC SS 158 Implement quality assurance
  process
• APEC EC SS 149 Compile and run an application
• APEC EC SS 150 Write and compile code based on
  requirements

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Software Development
• APEC EC SS 101 Decide on suitable developers
  for e-business projects
• APEC EC SS 151 Write program modules
• APEC EC SS 156 Develop detailed test plan
• APEC EC SS 112 Write utility programs
• APEC EC SS 179 Prepare on-line users manual
• APEC EC SS 180 Prepare Software Development
  Plan
• APEC EC SS 183 Develop process needs based on
  business requirements

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Website
• APEC EC SS 102 Optimise web site performance
• APEC EC SS 116 Implement process re-engineering
  plan
• APEC EC SS 120 Plan and implement quality
  assurance process
• APEC EC SS 111 Build dynamic webpages
• APEC EC SS 115 Design data driven websites
• APEC EC SS 117 Develop content and navigation
  structure for websites
• APEC EC SS 121 Ensure data driven website
  security
• APEC EC SS 122 Ensure secure data encryption

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Website
• APEC EC SS 123 Ensure site usability
• APEC EC SS 124 Ensure authentication occurs
  within system
• APEC EC SS 133 Create Java applets
• APEC EC SS 134 Build a Graphical User Interface
  (GUI)
• APEC EC SS 135 Develop guidelines for loading
  information to a web site
• APEC EC SS 136 Manage an e-business website
• APEC EC SS 139 Monitor site traffic
• APEC EC SS 142 Use site server tools

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Website
• APEC EC SS 143 Perform operational acceptance
  tests of web sites
• APEC EC SS 145 Ensure good database website
  connectivity
• APEC EC SS 146 Ensure website content meets
  appropriate standards
• APEC EC SS 155 Accurately assign meta-tags
• APEC EC SS 109 Write a Common Gateway Interface
  (CGI) script
• APEC EC SS 175 Manage online communities
• APEC EC SS 179 Prepare on-line users manual

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Order Fulfilment
• APEC EC SS 165 Manage online inventory
• APEC EC SS 164 Manage online purchasing
• APEC EC SS 166 Manage an e-business supply
  chain
• APEC EC SS 160 Maintain online records
• APEC EC SS 107 Install and configure payment
  facility
• APEC EC SS 167 Manage online sales
• APEC EC SS 168 Manage online payments
• APEC EC SS 174 Manage after sale customer
  support
• APEC EC SS 177 Plan after sale customer support

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Marketing
• APEC EC SS 169 Plan e-marketing
• APEC EC SS 170 Conduct e-marketing
• APEC EC SS 175 Manage online communities
• APEC EC SS 176 Manage on-line customer survey
• APEC EC SS 177 Plan after sale customer support
• APEC EC SS 178 Prepare a technical presentation

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Networking
• APEC EC SS 103 Build network security
• APEC EC SS 104 Build and configure a server
• APEC EC SS 128 Install a router
• APEC EC SS 113 Deploy a server
• APEC EC SS 129 Install and configure router
• APEC EC SS 131 Install network hub
• APEC EC SS 132 Install network bridges/
  switches
• APEC EC SS 139 Monitor site traffic
• APEC EC SS 142 Use site server tools
• APEC EC SS 143 Perform operational acceptance
  tests of web sites

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Networking
• APEC EC SS 148 Create code for network
  connectivity
• APEC EC SS 157 Develop configuration management
  processes

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Outsourcing
• APEC EC SS 161 Implement outsourcing
  arrangements
• APEC EC SS 162 Manage outsourcing arrangements
• APEC EC SS 171 Develop outsourcing policy and
  guidelines
• APEC EC SS 101 Decide on suitable developers
  for e-business projects

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Project Management
• APEC EC SS 101 Decide on suitable developers
  for e-business projects
• APEC EC SS 106 Implement change management
• APEC EC SS 140 Plan process re-engineering
  strategies

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APEC Tel E-Commerce Skills Standards Project

• Once finished, the project is likely to produce
  the following benefits for participating
  economies
• Access to internationally approved e-commerce
  skill standards that can inform strategies and
  curriculum development for e-commerce education
  and training in member economies
• The development of effective relationships to
  support e-commerce education and training
  information and cultural exchange between APEC
  economies and
• The initial development and implementation
  support for participating economies to help
  integrate e-commerce skills standards into
  education and training systems of member
  economies where required.

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E-Commerce As Catalyst forPoverty Alleviation
and Economic Prosperity
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(No Transcript)
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Thank you

• Janette Toral
• http//www.digitalfilipino.com
• Email janette_at_digitalfilipino.com