By Computerworld Philippines Staff
January 7, 2010

Local players in the Philippine ICT industry recently took the stage in December during the 2nd CyberPress ICT Choice Awards given out by the country’s association of IT journalists.

Three persons and entities were honored in the event as they made their mark despite the financial crisis that hit 2009 affecting individuals and companies alike.

The awarding ceremony, which was conducted alongside the group’s Christmas party, picked this year’s achievers in five categories, namely: IT Story of the Year, IT Product of the Year, IT Startup of the Year, IT Executive of the Year, and IT Company of the Year.

It was also the start of the Lifetime Achievement Award by CyberPress meant to honor personalities who contributed immensely to the development of the local IT industry. The first recipient of the award is Dr. William “Bill” Torres, hailed as the “Father of Philippine Internet.”

As cofounder and former CEO of Mozcom, the country’s first commercial ISP, Torres spearheaded the negotiations with the US government in the 1990s to bring Internet to the Philippines. He also holds the distinction as the first Filipino to acquire a PhD degree in computer science in the US.

In his acceptance speech, Torres said it is important for the country to take advantage of the benefits offered by technology. He cited, in particular, the cloud computing model, which he said is ideal for a developing nation like the Philippines.

Voted as IT Story of the Year was “Smartmatic-TIM undertakes 2010 election automation project.” It won over four nominated IT-related stories such as the IBM-GSIS feud, Cloud Computing, Unlimited Mobile Services, and the Explosion of Social Networking particularly during the Ondoy typhoon calamity.

Windows 7, Microsoft’s newest operating system bagged the award for IT Product of the Year. It outvoted the iPhone 3GS, iPod Nano, Globe Tattoo and Canon 500D products. The IT press acclaimed it as light and efficient, saying the OS was a big improvement by Vista. Microsoft Philippines country manager John Bessey accepted the trophy.

The IT Startup of the Year was Inovent Inc., a new Filipino tech company that unveiled in 2009 a prototype of an LCD interactive television (iTV) set, claiming to be the first of its kind to be produced in the Philippines. The categories other nominees were Sulit.com.ph and ANTS.

Chosen as IT Executive of the Year was Ricky Banaag, who has become a virtual institution in the local tech industry by leading Intel Microelectronics Philippines for the 12th straight year. He has also provided a steady hand to Intel despite the closure of the company’s manufacturing arm in 2009.

Banaag outvoted three IT executives, namely Ramon Arteficio, president and CEO, Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc.; Manuel Wong, general manager, Acer Philippines; Vicky Agorrilla, country manager, Lenovo Philippines; and Ryan Guadalquiver, managing director, HP Philippines.

Finally, the IT Company of the Year award was given to Acer Philippines as it exceeded expectations in 2009 by becoming the top PC vendor in the country. Globally, it now threatens HP after knocking out Dell at number two, the IT press said.

The list of nominees for the awards was drawn up during the CyberPress leadership seminar last December 5 to 6 in Baras, Rizal. CyberPress members, composed of journalists from the print, online and broadcast media then voted for their choices via an online poll.

The CyberPress ICT Choice Awards follows the lead of other press groups which have been bestowing awards over the years in their respective sectors. Examples include the “Athlete of the Year” award of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) and the “Car of the Year” award of the motoring press corps. 

Officially named as IT Journalist Association of the Philippines (ITJAP), CyberPress is the first IT press club established in South East Asia (SEA) in mid-1996 and remains to be the only IT media organization in the Philippines. – Tom S. Noda

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