It’s been a good year under Salalima’s watch
It came to our surprise that Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Rudy Salalima tendered his resignation on September 21 “out of delicadeza”. For the normal Filipino, however, they would ask: What makes the DICT important anyway? Why do they rarely hear about this government agency?
Well, let’s do a quick orientation: The said government agency was created last year with one goal in mind: to create policies towards improving the country’s internet infrastructure.
What have they done since then? Under Salalima’s leadership, the DICT collaborated with telco providers to provide EDSA and NAIA with free Wi-Fi.
Read: 5 Things You Need To Know About The Free EDSA WiFi Project
Read: More Details About the Free 1GBPs Free Smart WiFi at NAIA
DICT also helped victims of the Marawi crisis by providing them with free calls and texts so that they could communicate with their loved ones. It has also spearheaded in launching gov.ph, a one-stop shop government portal for all government-related queries.
These are the accomplishments of the DICT, on top of implementing its P1.2-billion national broadband plan, which aims to improve internet speeds across the country and to provide internet access to far-flung areas. Yes, the government has signed House Bill 5337 in efforts to make the internet a necessity for all Filipinos. In addition, telco providers are also making efforts in helping the DICT achieve its objectives towards improving internet speeds across the country
Read: Smart Boasts Insane 400Mbps Speeds In Boracay
Read: Globe Negotiating with More Home Owners Associations for Cell Site Access
Whoever is going to replace Salalima has big shoes to fill, especially in making the whole Philippines connected to the World Wide Web. Possible candidates include Ramon “RJ” Jacinto and DICT assistant secretary Carlos Caliwara.
Source: ABS-CBN News / Newsbytes.ph
