WE interviewed new Commission on Information and Communications Technology chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III for The Newsmaker Podcast right after his first media briefing.

INQUIRER.net executive editor Leo Magno was the host while I recorded the podcast on Mikaela, my MacBook Pro, using GarageBand. Assisting us were our two reporters who also covered the media briefing, Lawrence Casiraya and Alex Villafania.

Check out the audio podcast.

We also did a vidcast for our iVDO video channel. Check it out.

Got comments and suggestions? E-mail us at newsmaker@inquirer.net

THE FIRST media briefing of new Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III at the CICT office has started.

Roxas-Chua says the CICT will push for full automation of the 2010 polls.

“We are fully committed to providing a recommendation to Comelec of a fully-automated 2010 election,” Roxas-Chua said in response to a question.

Roxas-Chua also said that they would push for the creation of a Department of ICT.

***

Regarding poll automation, Roxas-Chua said they have decided to give a parallel recommendation for automation to Comelec, one for 2008 (ARMM) and one for 2010.

I asked the CICT chairman what lessons he has learned from the previous failed attempts at poll automation.

He said that the CICT will work closely with the agencies concerned and work on issues properly. He said that being new to government, he realizes that government agencies need to follow processes to get things done.

“I think from the beginning, we need to identify the possible obstacles from the start,” Roxas-Chua said, pointing out that this would avoid having projects derailed in the end by a technicality.

“I believe the technology is there. I believe people are receptive to new technology. I believe there’s no impediment except technicalities,” Roxas-Chua explained.

***

Roxas-Chua said his vision for the CICT is to bring ICT to the forefront and make it part of all walks of life. He cited the fact that many Filipinos still do not have access to personal computers, let alone a broadband Internet connection.

* * *

Asked if he would request a bigger budget, Roxas-Chua said he would stress effective utilization of the current budget rather than necessarily asking for an increase.

***

“ICT expertise resides with CICT, so when it comes to recommendations they have to listen to what we have to say. But the key word here is dialogue,” Roxas-Chua said, when asked to respond to previous criticism of the CICT and the role it plays in ICT policymaking. Roxas-Chua stressed that CICT will work closely together with other concerned agencies.

I SUPPOSE a number of people in the tech industry are asking this question, because many of us don’t really know much about Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, who was appointed chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

We’ll soon find out, though, as he’s set to face the media in his first press conference this Wednesday.

Here’s an excerpt from Erwin Oliva’s article:

Roxas-Chua III replaced Ramon Sales who filed an indefinite leave and later resigned for health reasons.

Prior to his appointment, Roxas-Chua III was president of the ARCYA Glass Corporation, a glass manufacturing company, and vice president and assistant general manager of Pacific Land and Building Corporation, a property development and management company, a copy of his short curriculum vitae indicated.

YUP, I’ve finally succumbed to Facebook as well — are you happy, Erwin, hehe Just joined today after accepting one of the invitations I’ve received.

Gotta admit, Facebook is pretty cool. Much better interface and cleaner layout than other social networking sites (*cough* MySpace *cough*).

Check out my profile badge

CHECK out this interesting article from Wired Magazine, which says we might be remembering fewer things because we now rely on gadgets like mobile phones and online tools such as Google to store our memory, so to speak.

Here’s an excerpt:

We’re running out of memory.

I don’t mean computer memory. That stuff’s half-price at Costco these days. No, I’m talking about human memory, stored by the gray matter inside our heads. According to recent research, we’re remembering fewer and fewer basic facts these days.

[Read the rest of this entry »]