IT infra fund procurement for Pasig City Hall complex ‘premature’

An official from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has raised concerns about the procurement of P1.242 billion worth of information technology infrastructure for the Pasig City Hall complex which has yet to begin construction, suggesting that the purchase is premature, if not ill-advised.

“Technology upgrades so often that what you buy now may not be useful after four or five years, particularly on both IT software and hardware,” said DICT spokesperson Assistant Secretary Renato Paraiso.

However, he explained that it is not unwise to procure the pre-operational setup for the ICT system before the actual construction, such as cable provisions, switches and pull boxes, and telephone terminal cabinets, among other IT items.

This comes following reports that the contract for the construction of the P9.6 billion new Pasig City Hall complex has included the procurement of an information technology system worth P1,242,966.011.

The construction and development of the 46,000 square meter complex, which was awarded to Philjaya on 24 May 2024, was reportedly projected to be completed in four to five years.

Included in the procurement list for IT’s networking and tech security are the Multi-Factor Authentication worth P104,885,370; AntiMalware worth P38,033,191; Next Generation Firewall worth P40,851,272; Domain Name System and Email securities worth P25,967,021 and P24,861,752, respectively; Network Access Control worth P25,751,844; Access Switces worth P114,028,114; Wireless Local Area Network worth P75,493,933; Software-Defined Wide Area Network worth P25,955,755 and the Data Center Network worth P47,355,899.

Paraiso said that it would have been prudent for the Pasig local government unit to secure from the DICT an endorsement for its information system strategic plan (ISSP) before proceeding with the procurement of the entire package of IT infrastructure, particularly on tech security and networking.

He explained that while the DICT is not vested with an oversight function over a local government’s information and technology program, any LGU may voluntarily seek DICT’s guidance for its ISSP.

Paraiso cited Joint Memorandum Circular 2024-01 (series 2024) which enjoined national government offices to harmonize their IT systems for purposes of ensuring interoperability, efficiency, and consistency across government agencies and possibly private sectors.

Under Republic Act 10844, the DICT replaces the Department of Science and Technology as co-convenor of the Medium-term Information and Communication Technology Harmonization Initiative (MITHI) which serves as a mechanism to ensure a systematic process for the planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a harmonized government-wide ICT blueprint.