Telof eyed as gov't broadband network provider

Written by Erwin Oliva, Inquirer.net   

MANILA, Philippines -- The ongoing restructuring of Telecommunications Office (Telof) has taken a different turn after it was moved back to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC), an official said.

The DoTC is now looking at transforming the agency into a government broadband network provider, DoTC Assistant Secretary Lorenzo Formoso told INQUIRER.net. Executive Order 603 transferred Telof from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) to the DoTC early this year.

The government directive indicated that the transfer of Telof to the DoTC was brought on "by the present demands of national development and concomitant development projects, as it will streamline bureaucracy operations and effectively promote fast, efficient, and reliable networks of communication system and services."

Until the transfer, the CICT had been working on the rationalization plans of Telof, as mandated in Executive Order 366. It had been working on integrating the operations of Telof, the National Computer Center, and the National Computer Institute (NCI).

CICT had submitted proposals to the Department of Budget and Management that proposed to retain 2,000 out of about 4,500 employees of Telof nationwide.

Under the plan, early retirement packages will be offered to some employees, while others will be transferred to new positions in "sister agencies."

Formerly known as the Bureau of Telecommunications, Telof was created in 1947 as a public telecommunications service facility. It was reorganized and renamed "Telof" in 1987.