1. Number of IE establishments that owned and used computers and communication equipment climbed up

A total of 5,542 establishments under the IE was estimated in 2019. Of these establishments, 5,533 establishments owned and used computers and communication equipment in their business operations, which was 52.2 percent higher than the number of establishments with ownership and usage of computers and communication equipment in 2017 at 3,635 establishments. (Tables A and 1)

There are two sectors under IE, namely, (1) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector and (2) Content and Media sector. All establishments under the Content and Media Sector owned and used computers and communication equipment in 2019. For the ICT sector, only those engaged in ICT manufacturing industries had a 100.0 percent ownership and usage of computers and communication equipment. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

2. Number of IE establishments with internet connection or access grew by 51.4 percent

Of the total IE establishments, 5,409 had internet access in 2019. This number posted an increase of 51.4 percent, from the 3,573 IE establishments with internet access in 2017. (Tables A and 1)

Among the IE industries, ICT service industries had the most number of establishments with internet at 3,475. This was followed by ICT trade industries and programming and broadcasting activities with 793 establishments and 504 establishments with internet, respectively. (Figure 2 and Table 1)

Figure 2. Number of IE Establishments with Internet by IE Industry
Philippines, 2019

Among the transactions done by IE establishments with government offices, 3,739 establishments used the Internet in downloading or requesting government forms. Completing forms online or sending completed forms and obtaining information from government organizations were done by 3,558 IE establishments and 3,480 IE establishments, respectively. The least transaction done by IE establishments was using the Internet in making on-line payments to government organizations with 2,746 establishments. (Figure 3 and Table 7)

3. Number of IE establishments with website increased

In 2019, 2,254 IE establishments had websites, higher by 41.5 percent than the 1,593 IE establishments recorded with website in 2017. (Table A)

Among the IE industries, ICT service industries had the highest number of 1,261 establishments with website. Meanwhile, the ICT manufacturing industries had the least number of 97 establishments with website. (Table 3)

4. An upsurge in e-commerce transactions via the Internet was noted in 2019

A total of 1,274 IE establishments were engaged in e-commerce transactions via internet in 2019. This showed an increase of 57.3 percent from the reported level of 810 establishments with e-commerce transactions via internet in 2017. (Table A)

Industry-wise, ICT service industries registered the highest number of 773 establishments with e-commerce transaction via internet, followed by ICT trade industries with 214 establishments and programming and broadcasting activities with 86 establishments. (Figure 4 and Table 5)

Figure 4. Number of IE Establishments with E-commerce Transactions
via the Internet by Industry: Philippines, 2019

5. Use of mobile phones/smartphones in business transactions surged up

Cellular mobile phone/smartphone is another medium used by establishments for doing business. Of the total IE establishments in 2019, 2,280 used cellular mobile phones/smartphones in their business transactions in 2019, an increase of 133.1 percent from the usage level of 978 establishments in 2017. (Table A)

IE industries engaged in ICT service industries posted the highest number of 1,437 establishments using cellular mobile phone/smartphone in their business transactions, while IE industries engaged in ICT manufacturing industries had the least with 55 establishments. (Table 5)

6. IE establishments with social media accounts climbed up by about  95.0  percent

The presence of social media account in 2019 was recorded at 2,839 IE establishments, higher by 94.9 percent than the 1,457 IE establishments with social media accounts in 2017. (Table A)

Among the IE industries, ICT service industries had the highest number of 1,745 establishments with social media accounts. The least with social media accounts were engaged in ICT manufacturing industries with 67 establishments. (Table 8)

7. A downturn was noted in the number of IE employees routinely using computer at work

The estimated number of 238,359 IE employees who routinely used computers at work in 2019 was reduced by 5.4 percent compared with the 252,002 employees who routinely used computers at work in 2017. (Table A)

By IE industries, ICT service industries had the highest number of employees who routinely used computers at work with 131,717 employees. This was followed by ICT manufacturing industries with 63,839 employees and programming and broadcasting activities with 14,317 employees.  (Table 2)

8. Around 219,000 employees routinely used computers with internet connection at work

At the national level, 218,948 IE employees routinely used computers with internet connection or access at work in 2019. The number of IE employees that routinely used computers with internet connection or access at work in 2019 was lower by -3.0 percent than the level in 2017 of 225, 724 employees. (Table A)

ICT services industries had the highest number of employees who routinely used computers with internet connection or access at work with 130,795 employees. On the other hand, motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities had the least number of employees routinely using computers with internet connection or access at work with 4,882 employees. (Table 2)

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

TECHNICAL NOTES

Introduction

The 2019 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT) was the eighth in the series of SICT conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It was a rider to the 2019 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) conducted in 2020.

The 2019 SICT collected and generated information on the availability, distribution, and access/utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among establishments in the country.

Specifically, the survey measured the following:

a. component of ICT resources and their utilization by establishments;
b. diffusion of ICT into establishments from various sources;
c. e-commerce transactions from data on e-commerce sales/revenue and purchases;
d. cellular mobile phone business transactions from data on sales/revenue;
e. estimate of the number of ICT workers in establishments;
f. methods of disposal of ICT equipment; and
g. presence of social media accounts.

II. Data Collection and Processing

The 2019 SICT utilized only one type of questionnaire (SICT Form 1) for all sectors which was distributed to sample establishments by field office personnel. All information collected in the 2019 SICT refers to calendar year 2019, except for employment where reference period is as of 15 November 2019. The SICT Form 1 followed the 2017 SICT questionnaire design with minor revisions due to the addition of some data items and categories recommended by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The clearance number for the 2019 SICT Form 1 is PSA-2042 with expiry date of 30 September 2021. Moreover, sample establishments were given various options in accomplishing the survey questionnaire, and these are:

a. Online Questionnaire, which can be accessed at https://sict.psa.gov.ph;

b. Electronic Questionnaire, which can be accomplished in fillable Portable Document Format (.pdf) or excel (.xlsx) file format; and

c. Printed Questionnaire, which is the traditional and physical version of the questionnaire.

The Establishment Data Management System (EDMS) was utilized in the decentralized processing of 2019 ASPBI questionnaires in the provinces.

Data are presented by industry group or 3-digit classification as classified under the 2009 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC).

III. Taxonomy of Establishments

An establishment is defined as an economic unit under a single ownership or control which engages in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single fixed location. It is categorized by its economic organization, legal organization, industrial classification, employment size, and geographic location.

Economic Organization refers to the organizational structure or role of the establishment in the organization.  It may be a single establishment, branch, establishment and main office with branches elsewhere, main office only, or an ancillary unit other than main office.

Legal Organization refers to the legal form of the economic entity which owns the establishment. It may be a single proprietorship, partnership, government corporation, stock corporation, non-stock corporation, or cooperative.

Industrial classification of an economic unit was determined by the activity from which it derives its major income or revenue. The 2009 PSIC which was approved for adoption by government agencies and instrumentalities through PSA Resolution No. 01 Series of 2017-158 signed on 14 February 2017 was utilized to classify economic units according to their economic activities.

Size of an establishment is determined by its total employment as of the time of visit during the latest Updating of the List of Establishments.

Total Employment (TE) refers to the total number of persons who work in or for the establishment. This includes paid employees, working owners, unpaid workers and all employees who work full-time or part-time including seasonal workers. Also included are persons on short-term leave such as those on sick, vacation or annual leaves and on strike.

Geographic Classification refers to the grouping of establishments by geographic area using the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) classification. The PSGC contains the latest updates on the official number of regions, provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays in the Philippines. The PSGC as of 31 December 2019 was used for the 2019 SICT.

IV. Scope and Coverage

The 2019 SICT was undertaken nationwide and covered all industries in the 2019 ASPBI. For the purpose of the survey, these industries were classified as core ICT industries and non-core ICT industries. Core ICT industries are industries comprising the Information Economy (IE). IE refers to industries involved in producing and trading of ICT products, and those which primarily used ICT in providing products and services. For this Special Release, only results from IE industries are presented.

The IE was composed further of the ICT sector and Content and Media sector. The industries under each sector are as follows:

a. ICT Sector

a.1  ICT Manufacturing Industries
a.2  ICT Trade Industries
a.3  ICT Service Industries

•  Software publishing

•  Telecommunication services

•  Computer programming, consultancy and related services

•  Data processing, hosting and related activities; web portals

•  Repair of computers and communication equipment

b. Content and Media Sector

b.1  Publishing activities
b.2  Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities
b.3  Programming and broadcasting activities

The economic activities composing the core ICT industries in the Philippines are listed in Table 1.

V. Sampling Design

The 2019 SICT utilized a stratified systematic sampling design with 3-digit PSIC serving as industry strata (industry domain) and employment size as the second stratification variable, except for ICT Core and BPM industries which was at the 5-digit PSIC level.

Domain

The geographic domain of the core ICT industries is the region while for the non-core ICT industries is at the national level. The industry domain/stratum for the non-core ICT industries are the 3-digit PSIC industry groups while for the core ICT industries are the 5-digit PSIC industry sub-classes. The employment domain/stratum is the MSME classification.

Unit of Enumeration

The unit of enumeration of the survey is the establishment.

Sampling Frame of Establishments

The frame for the 2019 SICT was extracted from the preliminary 2019 List of Establishments (LE) as of 5 February 2020. Samples were selected from the list of samples of the 2019 ASPBI, to ensure that the sample of SICT is a sample of ASPBI as well.

Estimation procedure

Core Industries

1) Estimation of Survey Weights

a) Base Weight

The base weight is the inverse of the probability of selection.  For the SICT, the base weight for each domain is given by:

where:

w_hk   = weight of the kth establishment in the h^th stratum
 N_h   = total no. of establishments in the h^th stratum
n_h    = total no. of sample establishments in the h^th stratum
h      = refers to the industry-employment stratum

b) Adjusted Weight

Adjustment Factor Due to Non-Response

To take into account the non-responding sample establishments, the adjustment factor by region and industry domain is as follows:

where:

A_1s    = adjustment factor for industry domain s
X_1k    = eligibility status of the kth sample establishment (1 if eligible, 0 otherwise)
X_2k    = responding status of the kth sample establishment (1 if responding, 0 otherwise)

Adjusted Weight

The adjusted weight is the product of the base weight and adjustment factor due to non-response.  That is,

where:

w'_hk   = final weight of the kth sample establishment in stratum h
w_hk    = weight of the kth establishment in the h^th stratum
A_1s   = adjustment factor for industry domain s

c) Final Weight

Adjustment Factor for Conformity with ASPBI

In order to conform with the estimate of total non-core ICT establishments in the ASPBI, final adjustment factor is computed as follows:

where:

A_2h             = adjustment factor for conformity with ASPBI
= estimated number of establishments in stratum h in ASPBI
= preliminary estimated number of establishments in stratum h in SICT which is computed as:

Final Weight

The final weight is the product of the adjusted weight and the second adjustment factor. That is,

where:

w'_hk   = final weight of the kth sample establishment in stratum h
w_1hk  = adjusted weight of the kth sample establishment in stratum h
A_2h    = adjustment factor for conformity with ASPBI

2) Estimation of Total

Total by Industry-Employment Stratum

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each industry-employment stratum in a region (geographic domain) is given by:

where:

y_hk       = value of the kth sample establishment in stratum h
w’_hkf    = final weight of the kth sample establishment in stratum h

Total by Industry Stratum and Domain

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each industry stratum in a domain is given by:

where:

h_i   = number of strata (industry-employment strata) for industry stratum i

Total by Employment Stratum and Domain

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each employment stratum in a domain is given by:

where:

h_j     = number of strata (industry-employment strata) for industry stratum j
r      = subscript for geographic domain r

Total by Geographic Domain

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each geographic domain is given by:

where:

I     = total number of industry strata in geographic domain r
J     = total number of employment strata in geographic domain r

Total by Industry Stratum (National)

The estimator for the national total of a characteristic in each industry domain/stratum is given by:

where:

R     = total number of regions

Total by Employment Stratum (National)

The estimator for the national total of a characteristic in each employment domain/stratum is given by:

National Total

The estimator for the national total of a characteristic is given by:

VI. Response Rate

VII. Concepts and Definitions

E-commerce or electronic commerce refers to the sale of goods and services where an order is placed by the buyer, price, and terms of sale are negotiated over the Internet Protocol-based networks, an extranet, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) network, or other online systems.

Extranet is a network or internetwork that is limited in scope to a single organization or entity but which also has limited connections to the networks of one or more other usually, but not necessarily, trusted organizations or entities (e.g. a company's customers may be given access to some part of its intranet creating in this way an extranet, while at the same time the customers may not be considered 'trusted' from a security standpoint).

Information Economy (IE) is a term used to describe the economic and social value created through the ability to rapidly exchange information anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. It is characterized by the intensive use by businesses of ICT for the collection, storage, processing, and transmission of information. The use of ICT is supported by supply of ICT products from an ICT-producing sector and through trade.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as defined by the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) is "the totality of electronic means to collect, store, process and present information to end-users in support of their activities". It consists, among others, of computer systems, office systems, and consumer electronics, as well as network information infrastructure, the components of which include the telephone system, the Internet, fax machines, and computers.

ICT Resources are equipment, knowledge and human resources used to support electronic business/manufacturing processes and the conduct of electronic commerce transactions. It includes computer and peripheral equipment, systems and application software, network channels, telecommunication equipment, routers, satellite, and other ICT hardware used in electronic business and commerce transactions, ICT support services and ICT workers.

Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that interchange data by packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). It is a "network of networks" that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies. The internet carries various information resources and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, file transfer and file sharing, online gaming, and the inter-linked hypertext documents and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW).

Intranet is a set of networks, using the Internet Protocol and IP-based tools such as web browsers and file transfer applications, that is, under the control of a single administrative entity. That administrative entity closes the intranet to all but specific, authorized users. Most commonly, an intranet is the internal network of an organization.

Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport. Current LANs are most likely to be based on Ethernet technology. Each workgroup can get to its local printer. Note that the printers are not accessible from outside their workgroup.

Network channel is a collection of computers connected to each other that allows them to communicate with each other and share resources and information. All networks are made up of basic hardware building blocks to interconnect network nodes, such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), Bridges, Hubs, Switches, and Routers.

Web site is a collection of Web pages, images, videos, or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the internet. All publicly accessible websites are seen collectively as constituting the "World Wide Web". The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a common root URL called the homepage, and usually reside on the same physical server.

Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network whose communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries. Less formally, a WAN is a network that uses routers and public communications links. The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is the internet. A WAN is a data communications network that covers a relatively broad geographic area (i.e. one city to another and one country to another country) and that often uses transmission facilities provided by common carriers, such as telephone companies.