President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday met with telecommunications executives to discuss ways to improve Internet connectivity in the Philippines.
Marcos convened a meeting with Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. chief executive officer (CEO) Dennis Anthony Uy and KT Corp. CEO Hyeon-Mo Ku and president Kyoung-Lim to discuss his administration’s bid for digital transformation and better Internet services.
During the meeting held at Malacañan Palace in Manila, Converge and KT executives gave recommendations to fast-track the shift to digitalization and improve the Internet connection in the country, the Office of the President (OP) said in a Facebook post.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with several telecom executives to hear their recommendations on accelerating digital transformation and improving interconnectivity in the Philippines,” the OP said.
Marcos, in a separate Facebook post, acknowledged that pursuing partnerships with the private sector would be beneficial to the government amid its digital transformation journey.
“Tayo ay nakipagpulong sa CEO ng Converge ICT at opisyal ng KT Corporation ng South Korea upang maisaayos ang internet services sa bansa (We met with the CEO of Converge ICT and officials of South Korea’s KT Corp. to improve the Internet services in the country),” he said.
“Sa pamamagitan ng Public-Private Partnerships gaya nito, ang kanilang magagandang kasanayan ay maaari nating gamitin sa mga programang ating gagawin (Through public-private partnerships like this, we can use their expertise in the programs that we will be implementing).”
The President is advocating for the use of digital technologies to improve government services and help the country keep abreast of a changing world.
Meanwhile, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) continues its rollout of the “BroadBand ng Masa Project” in more geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, considering that about 30 percent of the population still have no access to the Internet.
On Wednesday, DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy noted that the department was able to provide free Wi-fi connection to the islands of Sacol, Pangapuyan, and Tictabon in the southern part of Mindanao. (PNA)