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Sunday, June 26, 2005
Cabaero: ICT as tool to unite
By Nini B. Cabaero
Beyond 30
The promise of information and communications technology (ICT) as a tool for unity was promoted in the Cebu ICT 2005 conference held last week by both President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia.
Arroyo spoke of a divide that is not digital in nature only but political, economic and social too. She said the gap between the haves and the have-nots is reflected in the belief that there are two Philippines. "We cannot have two Philippines--one for the haves and one for the have-nots," she said in her speech to open the international affair.
The gap between those who have the technology and those who do not has remained wide despite the mushrooming of Internet cafes and the people's fascination with text messaging and ringtones. Economic difficulties have widened the gap too between those who have the purchasing power and those who do not; translated further into the divide between those who have and those who do not have houses, jobs, education, access to medicine, etc.
Arroyo said ICT could empower Filipinos into one body educated, highly skilled, resourceful and resilient. She added that her economic reforms like the expanded value-added tax and the filing of cases against tax cheats are the other ways for government to close the gap.
"I want one Philippines," she said.
Governor Garcia, in her talk to close the event, spoke of how Cebu is indeed the ICT capital of the country because of its independent, highly educated and English-speaking people. She said the "C" in ICT stands for "Cebu." To push the dream, Garcia announced the creation of a multi-sector Cebu Provincial Information Technology Council.
Garcia said information technology "supports the global trend towards integration," a subject that speaks to the heart of every Cebuano. Cebu is caught in discussions over the proposal to divide the island into four separate provinces. Garcia is leading the advocacy to keep Cebu as one.
The conference ended Friday on a positive note, with government and the private sector optimistic about the future of ICT in Cebu and the country. But, as a tool, ICT by itself will not be the cure to our problems.
As a tool, ICT has its limitations. These are in the ways the tool is used and in the motives of the people behind its use. It is not enough that the tool is there, what is needed is the will to use such tool for a purpose that will redound to the people's best interests.
The divide is not simply between the haves and the have-nots, but between those who use what they have for a purpose bigger than themselves and those who have the tool but use it for selfish ends.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)
(June 26, 2005 issue)
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