The Phillipines names new ICT chief

The President of the Philippines has appointed Louis Casambre as the first executive director of the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) under the Department of Science and Technology. Casambre spent 14 years as an integrated circuit design engineer at a Japanese-owned electronics firm.

He has also been a part of the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, representing the private sector.

His experience in the private sector, Casambre said, has allowed him to see the problems of the industry, which he now intends to address as the first head of the ICTO. Casambre further said he wants to link the seeming disconnect between the private sector and the government.

However, it is not Casambre’s first stint in the government as he also worked for about three years at the Advanced Science and Technology Institute.

Casmbre said his dream is to see the country progress “so that (Filipino) people wouldn’t have to leave the country to find a job.”

As ICT chief, Casambre said he intends to follow the Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS) which was crafted by the CICT just a few days before it was downgraded and renamed as ICTO in June.

“The PDS will serve as our guide in achieving our goals for the industry. Our aim is to make the PDS work,” he said. Casambre said the ICTO will focus on four main thrusts—e-government, Internet for all, cyber-security, and the IT-BPO sector.

The ICTO is tasked to consolidate all government ICT programmes, accelerate the development of a connected government, integrate IT government systems under a unified platform, and ensure the sustainability of IT-BPO sector.

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