Thank Manila B for the article in the past the government have a vision to develop Singapore into a developed nation by exploiting IT extensively to enhance its economic competitiveness and quality of life. aspires to be a global hub for businesses, services, and transportation. For many decades, Singapore has succeeded in attracting foreign firms to locate their manufacturing activities on the island because of its low-cost but high-quality labor. Now, Singapore is repositioning itself as a nerve center and switching node for staging regional and international business operations. In a similar fashion, a wide range of educational and consultation services may be projected and supported from the island without the need for extensive traveling or the cost of setting up large branch offices. The new information infrastructure will also enable Singapore's air and sea ports to reinvent value in the movement of goods and passengers. The electronic sharing of data and documents through integrated port information systems will result in a smoother and even swifter handling of vessels, freight and passengers through air and sea ports that are already known to be among the busiest and most efficient in the world. However, one thing is certain any,company or government decided to embark on computerize their work flow processes there will be no turning back. On the other hand Philippine would have a bigger challenge especially on power blackout Like Economist Peter Lee U notes that there are no shortcuts in addressing the worsening power situation in Philippine. "It is a fundamental demand-supply gap, and it takes time for new power plants to be built," he said.
Posted by ManilaB
When the world embraced the power of information communication technology, it must have known that such was a step in the right direction. And true enough, ICT today is one of the most powerful forces changing the way people relate to one another and live their lives. ICT has also radically changed the face of Philippine politics and governance. And nothing has underscored that reality more than the most recent elections. We witnessed the power of this technology. It changed the way campaigns for elective positions were done and it ushered in a new era in the manner in which votes were counted. Because of the power of ICT, Philippine politics and elections will never be the same again. In the past, people in the provinces flocked to town plazas to hear candidates speak. The icing of every "kampanya" was the candidate's "talumpati" atop the "entablado" - that erstwhile favourite activity of politicians where they lambasted their political opponents and painted a rosy picture of the future in their patented oratorical style. In those big gatherings, throngs came to hear what the candidates have to promise, or simply to cheer for them or even to heckle them. In the recent elections, there were less people in the plazas and more people in the cyber cafes and computer shops. The promising, the cheering and the heckling took place more often on Facebook profiles and less on the "kampanya." A candidate who was not present in the world wide web would have failed to connect with the biggest chunk of the electorate - the young and the middle-aged. In many ways, the power of ICT brought candidates closer to the grassroots. Social media - by far the most popular offspring of this technology - removed the candidates' mystique and made them "real." "Totoong tao" in the language of the young. It also made candidates truly vulnerable: social media opened every candidate's statement and promise to cruel scrutiny. These promises were dissected and chopped up in blogs, chat rooms and comments on Facebook profiles. They were both hailed and ridiculed. Thanks to ICT, political aspirants were pulled down from their pedestals and were made to look like the everyday, ordinary Filipino. Only the authentic survived the intensity of close scrutiny made possible by social media. But thanks to social media, candidates were also able to hear the authentic voice of the electorate. They were no longer captive to what their ward leaders said. Candidates heard it directly from the people. No more sugar-coated, self-serving platitudes that made for a deceptive view of the public pulse. Just direct and clear sentiments from the grassroots that helped candidates get an honest view of themselves. But nothing made for a clearer expression of the people's voice than the automated election process. Here is the power of ICT changing the landscape of Philippine democracy. Within hours after precincts had closed, most local communities knew the clear winner. This made for credibility. Big-time credibility. It also made for peaceful elections. With credible results available within hours, the animosity resulting from a bitter campaign period came to an early demise. Those with common sense buried the hatchet as soon as winners were proclaimed. In some cases, only those who chose to live their lives "in a felicitous state of self-deception" stayed on the warpath even after their political bid had been buried in the avalanche of votes favouring their rivals. The power of ICT is not without limitation. The automated election system has defects. Major defects. But not one that the genius of ICT professionals cannot remedy. Clearly, the power of ICT has opened a new chapter in Philippine politics and elections. We can no longer go back to the previous chapter. I am happy that history will remember me as the last governor of the province of Rizal to have been elected under the manual counting system. I am honoured to have been the first governor of the province to be given an overwhelming new mandate under the automated election system. ICT has demonstrated its power in the recent elections. The challenge now is to use the power of ICT to deliver our commitments to the people who gave us a fresh new mandate.
