Philippines wins seat in International Telecom Union council

The Philippines has secured a seat in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council, to serve its fourth consecutive four-year term, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Tuesday.

In a news release, the DICT said the county was among the 13 states selected from Asia and Australia region — along with Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates — in the ITU Council.

The Philippines won its bid for a re-election in the ITU Council at the agency’s plenipotentiary conference in Bucharest, Romania on October 3, 2022.

The DICT said 193 member-states of the ITU selected 48 states to lead the agency’s governing council.

ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 member-states and a membership of over 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations.

The Philippines was represented by the DICT in the ITU.

“The DICT looks forward to working with all our stakeholders both in the public and private sectors to attain our common aspirations of a digitally empowered Philippines. As a country, we are very eager to take an active part in building a better digital future for all as our commitment under the Bucharest Declaration,” said DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy.

“This new mandate to sit among 48 member states out of 193 in the International Telecommunications Union reinforces our commitment to fully embrace digital transformation as a major strategy for national development,” said Uy.

The DICT said ICT Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue assisted the country’s bid for re-election in the ITU Council.

“To us in government, it may be just work, but for others it may mean their lives, their food, their education, their health. Let's help the world in the next four years with every knowledge, every sharing we can share. The PH is blessed to stand among nations and have a voice in the next four years. Let us show the world that DICT is a government agency of global standards. Let us use this seat, this voice to help build a better digital future,” said Batapa-Sigue.

Uy, likewise, said the ITU Council

“will allow the DICT to lead our country's involvement in discussions and decisions that will significantly shape the future of the world.” — DVM, GMA News