Tag: national broadband program

Speech before Apptitude and Abogadong Pinoy

Over the past year, we often hear that in the midst of the crises we face, we must seize every opportunity that comes our way. Between you and me, our present reality goes beyond that: crises present not just opportunities but critical junctures through which societies change.

We are fortunate that just within our reach is an arsenal that can transform societies in ways unimaginable. I speak of information technology –one of our anchors for stability in these otherwise uncertain times. It has become more than a tool for progress; it has transformed into a defining force for virtually all societies to survive.

I am glad to speak before all of you for this same agenda: we must harness technology and innovation to adapt to the change of our time.

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Ping Nagtataka sa 2021 Budgets ng DPWH at DICT

Parehong malamya ang paggastos sa kasalukuyang taon pero mas malaki ang dagdag sa pondo ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) kumpara sa Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) para sa 2021.

Bukod sa nabanggit na situwasyon, binanggit pa ni Senador Panfilo Lacson, vice chairman ng Senate Committee on Finance na marami ring kuwestiyonable at nasasayang lamang na pondo ang DPWH pero dinagdagan pa ng P28.348 bilyon ng bicameral panel ang badyet nito para sa papasok na taon.

Ang DICT na lubhang nangangailangan ng gastusin para sa national broadband program upang makatipid ang mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan sa bayarin sa serbisyong na mula sa pribadong sektor ay kulang-kulang P1 bilyon lamang ang idinagdag.

Related: Lacson Questions Disproportionate Fates of DICT, DPWH Appropriations in 2021 Budget Bill
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Lacson Questions Disproportionate Fates of DICT, DPWH Appropriations in 2021 Budget Bill

One department with a track record of underspending and questionable, wasteful projects may be getting an added P28.348 billion, while another department implementing a much-needed national broadband program is getting a “useless” increase of less than P1 billion in the 2021 budget.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson thus lamented on Wednesday evening the 2021 budgets of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, after they went through the bicameral conference committee.

“As it is, at P666.474 billion as proposed under the National Expenditure Program, and we actually base this on the historical data I mentioned, we can immediately see that P82 billion cannot be used. And here we are further increasing the budget of DPWH by P28 billion… We should learn our lessons from that data,” Lacson said in his interpellation of the bicameral conference committee report of the 2021 budget.

Related: Ping Nagtataka sa 2021 Budgets ng DPWH at DICT
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#PINGterview: P68B Skeleton Projects, Isantabi Muna sa 2021

In an interview on DZBB, Sen. Lacson addressed questions on:
* realigning P68B in ‘skeleton projects’ for areas hit by recent typhoons
* reports of getting COVID-19 vaccine

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Sponsoring the 2021 Budget of the Department of Information and Communications Technology

Sen. Lacson sponsored the proposed 2021 budget of the Department of Information and Communications Technology amounting to P14,139,746,000, and reiterated his call to augment funding for the National Broadband Program. “I have repeatedly appealed to our colleagues to support the NBP (because) this is the new normal. Lahat umaasa sa Internet connection including DepEd, SUCs, and practically all government agencies. If we complete the funding requirements by augmenting the necessary amount, we will have a very efficient internet service available to all government agencies, including LGUs.”

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