Science Secretary Mario Montejo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has signed a cooperation agreement in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) with the Japanese government.
Secretary Mario Montejo on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) Yoshitaka Shindo as the Philippines transitions to digital television broadcasting technology.
Montejo’s visit to Japan coincided with President Benigno Aquino III’s meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also on Tuesday.
The DOST said the MOU “encourages cooperation and accelerate development and integration in the field of information and communications technology” between the two countries.
It takes into account “rapid changes in the various ICT fields and the adoption by the Philippines of the Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) as the Philippine standard for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB),” the statement said.
Other issues considered by the agreement are the development of technology in disaster risk reduction and management and securing the online environment for e-commerce and e-government. Tools to counter illegal cyber activities are also of common interest to both countries.
A couple of years ago, the government eyed shutting off inefficient analog signals by 2016 as the population shifted to digital technology. It cited improved quality of broadcast and the freeing up of radio spectrum. The main challenge, however, is to convince the population to buy devices to convert digital signals to television images and sounds.
The Secretary will remain in Tokyo until June 28 for ICT policy dialogues and site visits. He is joined by Senator Cynthia Villar, Representatives Joel Duavit, Victor Yu, Mariano Piamonte Jr. and Mariano Michael Velarde Jr. of the Senate and House committees on science and technology.
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