Philippines - Technology Agency To Provide Y2K Help - Update

 

August 20, 1998: 5:00 p.m. ET

  

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (NB) -- By Erwin Lemuel G. Oliva, Metropolitan Computer Times. After Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada instructed all government organizations to become Y2K ready through Executive Order No. 9, the local IT industry felt relieved. Finally, the executive realized the seriousness of the problem, and is now backing it up with action.

With less than 500 days remaining, the Technology Livelihood Resource (TLRC) Data Center, a government agency under the office of the President, is now tasked to provide "affordable" year 2000 solutions to "government departments, agencies, government-owned and/or controlled corporations, state colleges and universities and other related offices."

EO No. 9 specifically stipulates that government offices may tap the 50 million peso TLRC facility located at Cyber City, Clark Special Economic Zone, Pampanga.

In an interview with Perla Baltazar, manager of TLRC data center and head of the TLRC Y2K conversion project, Newsbytes learned that the agency has started "coordinating" with several "line" agencies. Line agencies, are major departments getting regular allocation from the national budget. Currently, TLRC has met with 13 out of the 17 line agencies.

"We had initial meetings with their chief operating officers," she said, adding that most of these agencies are already aware of problem, and have come up with anti-Y2K strategies.

For some time, many government organizations have been in limbo since most Y2K directives failed to provide "specific" plans on how they should go about correcting the Millennium Bug problem. Baltazar, in fact, admitted that several IT vendors have been offering government offices Y2K solution packages but due to "limited" resources, they were slow to accept proposals.

At this time, she disclosed that at least three line agencies are set for the year 2000. She, however, declined to identify these agencies.

Baltazar explained that the TLRC's facility built in Cyber City was meant to provide government institutions more affordable Y2K solution packages. In fact, the executive order is actually ordering government offices to "use the existing facility," she added.

TLRC's Y2K factory was conceived as early as May 1997. By the end of that year, the facility was ready for use. It was, she added, a project not only intended to boost the Clark Special Economic Zone initiative, but also as a source of employment for people affected by the Mt. Pinatubo volcano eruption.

The Y2K factory, which has about 100 workstations and more than 40 employees, is a livelihood project designed to tap "specialized" skills in that area, she explained. "But the facility can accommodate up to 300, and perhaps operate under three shifts" she added.

Computer science graduates and those with background in computers were trained for at least two weeks, she said. Hands-on training followed. Although most of these young talented Filipinos are currently employed on a "per-project" basis, she stressed that they are given "better" pay. "If they can exceed their quota, which is usually based on the number of line of source codes fixed, then they get higher pay," she stated.

TLRC Data Center trains program converters for specific "remediation" tools, Baltazar informed. Thus they are still thinking about using the Department of Science and Technology-trained Y2K program converters. Taking just anyone trained by another group, she explained, will not be that simple.

TLRC's Y2K solution package involves inventory/assessment of computer-based systems, conversion, unit testing, and finally implementation. "At this time, most of our Y2K conversion experiences involved mainframes," she said, adding that they also are capable of "fixing" mid-range or server-types, and PC server-based systems. She disclosed that TLRC has, in fact, been doing off-shore Y2k conversions.

"Ideally, there should be a Y2K team for each agency," she said, adding that during the inventory/assessment stage, TLRC people will be actively working with the agencies particularly in identifying mission critical systems. Actual fixes, she pointed out, will be conducted at the 1,300 square-meter facility in Cyber City.

The extent of the Y2K problem is big, and at this stage, we're still just beginning to address the problem," she remarked. Asked why government has been quite complacent about the problem, she explained that computerization in Philippine government started late. In fact, she said that many government agencies are still not too dependent on computers-based systems. "In our initial inquiries, we discovered that many are still using stand-alone systems."

Although TLRC's data center will extend services primarily to government institutions, Baltazar said that they would eventually entertain private organizations. In fact, after the year 2000, Baltazar said that the TLRC could venture into other IT related projects such as systems development.