28 October 2014 - The Philippines was elected to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council for a second four-year term for one of 13 seats representing member-states in Asia and Australasia at the ITU’s 19th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) held on October 27 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO).
The Philippines received 115 out of 167 valid votes for eighth place in a tie with Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. In all, 13 countries were elected out of 18 vying for 13 seats in Region E, which groups a total of 49 countries.
“We recommit ourselves to our work in the evolving ITU, in particular in pushing for our agenda to advance the use of information technology in disaster risk reduction and in bridging the digital divide,” said delegation head, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary Louis Napoleon Casambre, Executive Director of the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), after the victory.
“Information and communication technology (ICT) is undeniably one of the most relevant technologies in the world today in building economies and creating opportunities that impact lives by connecting nations, industries and families,” said Undersecretary Casambre, citing the role of ICT in rescue and rehabilitation in areas affected by the Bohol quake and Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in 2013.
Delegation co-head Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez cast the Philippines’ vote at the Voting Station 5 during the 10th Plenary Session on the sixth day of the quadrennial conference.
“This hard-won victory was the result of five months’ close coordination and effective teamwork by Philippines’ ITU Council campaign team, which is composed of several government agencies and the private sector,” Ambassador Hernandez said. “Such tight cooperation among stakeholders no doubt led to this convincing success.”
The team is composed of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) ICTO, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the United Nations and International Organizations (UNIO), the Philippine Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva and the Philippine Embassy in Seoul as well as the private sector.
“The strong showing of the Philippines in these elections, from the last spot in 2010 to eighth place today, is the result of several months of combined efforts of UNIO, the Mission and several overseas posts to ensure that the Philippines will be reelected to this governing body of the ITU,” remarked Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN in Geneva.
“More importantly, the reelection is a manifestation of the trust and confidence of ITU member states to the leadership of the Philippines in information communication technology,” she added.
Apart from the Philippines, the other newly elected ITU Council members from Australasia are China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Pakistan.
There were 35 other countries from four other regions elected to serve on the 48-member ITU Council for the 2015-2018 term at the same plenary session, together with 12 members of the Radio Regulations Board. The ITU Council acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between the quadrennial Plenipotentiary Conferences.
"The Union is strong. And given the number of candidates for these elections, it shows there is still interest for this union," ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure said.
The Philippine delegation at PP-14, which is being held from October 20 to November 7 this year, is composed of 20 members from the government and private sectors in the Philippine information and communication industry, led by the ICTO and the NTC.
Private sector representatives which attended the PP-14 include Globe Telecom, PLDT-Smart Communications, Institute of Electronic Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP), Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines (FICTAP) and its member cable operators.
The Philippines has been an active member of the ITU since 1912. The ITU is an international organization within the United Nations System where governments and the private sector coordinate operations of international IT networks and services. END