MANILA, Philippines ? President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants the Senate to immediately enact a bill creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology or DICT.

According to a statement of the Commission on ICT (CICT), President Arroyo, in an official letter to Senate president Manny Villar, has "certified" Senate Bill 2546 as needing "immediate enactment".

The said bill endorses a DICT to replace the current CICT, which was created back in 2004 as a transitory body to a full-pledged department.

The CICT is currently chaired by Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III (officially a member of the President's Cabinet) and under him are commissioners handling human capital development, infrastructure, e-government and cyberservices.

In her letter to Villar, President Arroyo stressed the need to consolidate government efforts toward the development of ICT in the country, as well as strengthen competitiveness in business process outsourcing or industry.

House Bill 4300, a counterpart bill to Senate Bill 2546, was approved by the Lower House last August and has been submitted to the Senate.