There should be a computer connected to the internet in every Filipino home to give everyone access to livelihood and educational opportunities and bring the country firmly into the Information Age , IT businessman Joey de Venecia III said yesterday.
"This is not an impossible dream, but rather a realizable goal," he said, as he called for the next administration to make this and information technology education a sustained part of the national government budget.
De Venecia said a personal computer, internet access and information support will have an immediate and dramatic impact on Filipino families. This would give them enhanced educational and livelihood opportunities that are only available from IT, and a means for OFW families to re-integrate with their loved ones working abroad by commuting on the cyber-highway.
"Students will have the entire world as their library and they will hone up on the skills we need to become truly competitive in the 21st century. All OFWs abroad can be involved in the day-to-day lives of their families back home, while families can engage in IT businesses like e-commerce and delivery of providing out-sourced services from their own homes," he illustrated.
One of the country's pioneer IT businessmen, de Venecia said that because the cost of PCs have gone down drastically in the last few years, they should be a standard part of every household, much like TV sets, electric fans and gas stoves.
Between the country's three major telcos, internet connection is also available just about everywhere in the Philippines, de Venecia added.
"Being the biggest of the telcos, Smart alone could well provide internet connectivity everywhere," he added.
De Venecia said that he had high hopes for the continued growth of the IT industry in the country.
In business circles, he is known as the Father of the Philippine Call Center industry. When he set up the first call center in the country in 1997, little did the public know that this segment of the IT industry would soon become the fastest growing business. Today, there are some 600,000 Filipinos employed in the call center industry.
De Venecia said it was possible that employment in the IT industry could be in the millions in a few short years, given enough incentives by the government.
"What we do not have yet here in the country are home-based call center workers. If there were a PC with internet connection in every Filipino home, imagine how many millions could be part of online commerce," said the ZTE-national broadband network whistleblower.
One hundred percent penetration is not impossible or improbable, according to de Venecia. One of the country's Asean neighbors, Singapore, is close to attaining the goal of all households having PCs.
There are so many wi-fi connections in Singapore that there is a "cloud" which allows everyone to access the internet anywhere in the city-state.
De Venecia said connectivity to the internet did not have to be by PC, either. Even cell phones are now internet-ready. De Venecia said he agreed with the observation that many kinds of devices now in the market or soon to hit the market will make access to all the information in the internet available to all.
"The need for information, especially among our students, is a part of modern life," he said.
A leading senatorial candidate under the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, Joey de Venecia III represents the IT sector, the business community and even the youth in his first try at politics.
He became known nationally as a graftbuster who singlehandedly stopped the corruption riddled ZTE deal worth P16 billion from pushing through in 2007. De Venecia has consistently fared well in the national surveys on senate bets, always landing in the winners' circle.
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