President flaunts another IT program . . .

At the 8th e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition held recently in Pasay City, Pres. Arroyo unveiled a P350-million IT scholarship program designed to train 40,000 to 50,000 Filipinos for employment in the Philippine IT sector. The president also assured that the IT trainees would be easily absorbed by the job market as her administration is in the process of generating 10 million jobs.

It is quite surprising that the president has the audacity to introduce another IT-related project in the face of the ZTE-NBN fiasco considering that both come from the same industry. The president even proclaimed that “we are proud of what we have achieved”, referring to her administration’s “achievements” in developing the IT sector.

But, with the recent controversy rocking the country right now, one cannot help but wonder whether or not this IT training program is another “overpriced” project.

What I am driving at is this: the current administration has lost a lot of its credibility with respect to its business ventures, not just in the IT industry. The abovementioned event is considered as the premier outsourcing conference in Southeast Asia, it draws approximately 150 exhibitors, 500 delegates and some 2,000 exhibition visitors every year. Considering the media attention the Senate hearings on the ZTE deal is attracting, it is not too far-fetched to assume that the controversy has had a negative impact on the impressions or opinions of a majority of potential investors in the Philippine IT industry.

Whether or not those potential investors play “the game” or not, the ZTE-NBN fiasco cannot but discourage them from investing in the country. For those investorsave come to accept that “commissions” to government officials are a fact of life, being identified as such an investor is bad publicity for their business; while those who have yet to experience dealing with the Philippine government might already be disgusted at the magnitude of greed that has been allegedly committed in the ZTE deal.

Perhaps the president is trying to play down the effects of the controversy by acting like it’s business as usual. In any case the government, alongside the creation of other transactions, must restore investor confidence by providing for more transparency in government business ventures, if it hopes to minimize the negative effects that the ZTE controversy has had on the economy.