'Net Father’ of RP, 5 others to be awarded Dec. 17

No less than the “Father of Philippine Internet” Dr. William “Bill” Torres is scheduled to be honored on Dec. 17 by members of the IT Journalist Association of the Philippines (ITJAP) popularly known as CyberPress.  Composed of the country’s technology journalists, CyberPress is scheduled to fete Torres with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his meritorious contributions to the local IT industry.

Yet the event will also recognize this year’s achievers in five categories, namely: “IT Start-Up of the Year, IT Company of the Year, IT Executive of the Year, IT Product of the Year, and IT Story of the Year.”

The list of nominees were drawn up during the recent CyberPress leadership seminar held in Baras, Rizal. CyberPress members, who write for the country’s top newspapers and IT publications, then voted for their choices via an online poll. The organization said the CyberPress ICT Choice Awards follows the lead of other press groups which have been bestowing awards over the years in their respective sectors.

Torres is the co-founder and former chief executive of Mosaic Communications (Mozcom), the country’s first commercial ISP (Internet service provider). He has introduced and pushed for cutting-edge innovations in the field of information and communications technologies that have greatly benefited the Philippines.

Torres is known to be the first Filipino to acquire a PhD degree in computer science in the United States while on a Fulbright-Hays Grant at the University of Wisconsin. Since then, he has generously and willingly devoted his time and knowledge to the development of country’s IT sector in the last few decades.

The defining point of Torres’ career in IT came in 1992 when he spearheaded the negotiations to connect the Philippines to the Internet. This pioneering effort opened tremendous opportunities for Filipinos, particularly in the area of business process outsourcing.

Torres has also served as director-general of the National Computer Center during the Aquino administration and has actively participated, mostly as head, in various industry associations.

Torres will receive the award at the 2nd CyberPress ICT Choice Awards, to be held at the Arts in the City, Furpark, 26th street, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. It is an initiative of ITJAP that is meant to honor the persons and entities that made their mark in the local ICT market for 2009. – Tom S. Noda

Source:

Computerworld Philippines Staff, Dec 8, 2009

http://computerworld.com.ph/rp%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98net-father%e2%80%99-5-others-to-be-awarded-dec-17/