Philippines Re-elected in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council for term 2023-2026 

Philippine delegation to the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022, led by Department of Information and Telecommunication Technology (DICT) Secretary John Ivan Uy, with members from DICT, Department of Foreign Affairs, and other entities. (DFA-UNIO Photo by Rigoberto D. Banta Jr.)

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, 04 October 2022 – The Philippines retained its seat in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council under Region E (Asia and Australasia) for the term 2023-2026 at elections held on 03 October 2022 during the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference held in Bucharest, Romania.

The ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which the Philippines has been a member of since 1912. The ITU Council is the Union’s governing body. The ITU Council is responsible for the strategic and policy planning of the Union, ensures proper and efficient implementation of programs and activities, and approves the budget of the Union. 

During the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022, the Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary General, Directors for the Radio Communication Bureau (BR), Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB), Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), twelve Radio Regulations Board (RRB) members, and forty-eight Council members for the term 2023-2026 were elected. 

The highly contested election for Region E of the Council (Asia and Australasia) was comprised of 16 candidates vying for 13 seats.  The Philippines ranked 7th with 12 other member states elected: Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates. 

This is the fifth consecutive term of the Philippines in the ITU Council. The Philippines supports ITU’s vision of an information society and will continue to work with international partners to bridge the global digital divide. END