IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Department of Finance (DOF) wants to prohibit online sales of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages to curb underage smokers and drinkers as well as for tax compliance purposes.

Following the proliferation of merchants selling cigarettes and alcoholic drinks on e-commerce platforms, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government will impose a ban against the sale of liquors and cigarettes online.

The training series will instruct webmasters of various government agencies on how to integrate the Government Website Template, including its policies and standards, using Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress as content management systems (CMS).

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said a strong government-private sector partnership is needed to help the Philippines breach the digital divide and achieve financial inclusion for all Filipinos.

Dominguez said the government is fully aware that the private sector’s expertise and initiative to adopt digital innovations will help the country as it adjusts to the rapid changes in the emerging new economy.

What makes cities and municipalities ready to become smart cities?

This question defined the atmosphere at the Manila Hotel on Nov. 14, 2025, as The Manila Times honored the country’s top local government units (LGUs). While the event celebrated model cities and municipalities, the underlying current of the discussion was the urgent transition from standard good governance to data-driven “Smart City” status.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, receiving top honors yet again, set the tone for this national conversation.

Previously, citizens needing an official stamp had to visit the consular office. Now, the same service is made available at malls from Monday to Saturday.

Last July 13, the DICT released a press statement announcing that it was seeking P44.6 billion to fund programs for the country’s digital transformation. Of the P44.6 billion, P22.1 billion will be allotted to improve the country’s wi-fi and broadband infrastructures, and develop e-platform and online systems to support the e-governance initiatives of different departments. Another P11.7 billion will be allocated for its digital government initiatives and P10.2 billion for digital workforce and digital education.

As someone who has long been advocating for government to give top priority to our digital economy readiness, I was elated that the government is finally taking seriously its digital transformation plan judging from the dramatic increase in the proposed budget allocation for 2021.

The government needs to provide support in terms of policies and standards to address challenges in building smart cities in the country, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said.

In a report, the state think tank’s said developing smart cities is seen to offer a potential solution to urbanization issues being faced by the country, which include slow business transactions, costly telecommunication services, unreliable and expensive access to electricity and water, traffic, and weak innovation.

FAiTH, which will be launched on November 14, is the first of its kind in the Philippine government, which previously did not have a system for tracking the use of disaster-relief funds donated by other countries and aid organizations.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can use a self-assessment toolkit to measure their readiness to embark on the digital transformation as they onboard to digital platforms or marketplaces.

Wea Bohol, officer-in-charge of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) E-Commerce Division, said the Digital Maturity & Digital Mindset (DM2) toolkit is a free to use diagnostic test or survey that will enable these firms to self-assess their level of digital maturity to identify training modules that will help accelerate digital transformation.

The senator said that in a survey of 142 economies, the report ranked the Philippines 106th and 103rd respectively in terms of the impact ICT has on improving access to basic services and on enhancing government efficiency.

Government agencies unveiled on Tuesday a package of reforms to further simplify the process of starting a business in the Philippines to six steps and eight days, down from the existing setup requiring 16 steps and 34 days.

The government also announced e-government initiatives for accessible and convenient online transactions for payroll-related payments to Philhealth and Pag-IBIG, reducing the number of payments from 36 to 13 per year.

“We continue to be encouraged by reforms that will make our business registration faster, simpler, more efficient, and more transparent,” DTI Secretary and NCC Co-Chair Gregory L. Domingo said.

During the launch of the Philippine Digital Strategy for 2011 to 2016, Monchito Ibrahim, commissioner of CICT, told reporters that all projects under the roadmap would be implemented through PPP.

He estimated about P1-billion worth of government projects to improve the Internet connectivity of all public agencies.

iSchools project, a flagship project of CICT, has provided internet-abled computer laboratories to 1,000 public high schools and given roughly 19,200 school personnel with IT training for education initiatives.

“We are now trying to complete our deliverables and make sure that all schools get appropriate IT training,” Christian Placido Calma, CICT Project Development Officer and the Project Content Development Head told FutureGov Asia Pacific Magazine.

After November 30, the GSIS will submit all applications to LandBank for the printing of the LandBank-issued UMID eCard.

It may be recalled that beginning August of this year, the more than 1.4 million members may already choose to have their loan proceeds and other benefits credited to a UMID (Unified Multi-Purpose Identification) eCard issued by the Land Bank of the Philippines.

GSIS regional manager Deity U. Manampan bared that expanding its partnership with the Landbank of the Philippines is an answer to complaints of most members living in areas where there is no Unionbank branch.

“We understand their complaints. Withdrawing money from a non-Unionbank ATM machine would cost them P10 or more per transaction. That would be too much for them if they withdraw often,” Manampan said.

GWAPS is a secure system that performs remote, paperless transactions. A GWAPS kiosk resembles an ATM and adopts world-class technologies such as radio-frequency identification or RFID recognition, biometrics and virtual private networks.

An electronic health information support system developed to help local government officials make informed decisions on health concerns has arrived in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region.

The ceremonial turnover of the eHATID (eHealth TABLET for Informed Decision-making), tablets that contain health-related information, particularly patient records, was one of the highlight of the recent Mimarop leg of the Science Nation Tour: Agham na Ramdam, which concided with the 51st regional development council meeting in Marinduque, the Department of Science and Technology said in a statement.

House Bill 5060, a substitute bill for four separate measures was introduced by Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara, and former president and detained Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

A House leader on Monday welcomed the approval of the bill establishing an E-Government masterplan that will give the public access to government services through the Internet.

The House of Representatives last week voted 229-0 to approve House Bill 6927 or the E-Government Act.

With the approval of the E-Government Act, Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte pushed for the immediate implementation of Republic Act 11055, or the National Identification or ID System Act, and of the National Broadband Plan of the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Tarlac 2nd district representative Susan Yap, author of House Bill 908, said the use of biometrics in voter registration has been validated as a reliable way of confirming the identity of a person.

Biometics involves electronic recording of applicants’ photographs and signature, as well as his or her fingerprints.