IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Lawmakers approved a senate bill, which calls for the reorganisation of communications-related agencies into a separate entity known as the Department of ICT (DICT).

The National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, made up of the country's top technology firms, indicates that industry stakeholders have been clamouring for the creation of an ICT department for over a decade.

The information and communications technology (ICT) sector in the Philippines has a new Department of ICT (DICT), even as one local e-Employment project won an international award.

Philippine Department of ICT created after 15 years

After 15 years since the first DICT bill was filed in Congress, the proposed government department has finally been signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III on Monday.

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to hear the views of the top executives of some of the country’s leading tech disruptors on the current state of our preparedness to take full advantage of the benefits of the digital economy. This was a follow-up of the conference recently organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation on digital future during which the imperative to address the broadband infrastructure requirements was one of the major conclusions.

What I heard was frankly quite dismaying. While they were all able to function within the confines of the current state of our digital infrastructure, it comes at significant costs and at less than the intended quality of service. More industries are increasing their reliance on the internet, but connectivity issues hamper advancement.

The data center to be housed at the Globe facility is the second National Government Data Center, Globe said.

The project is in line with the eGovernment Master Plan, which adopts a whole-of-government approach to information and communications technology infrastructure and shared government applications for better and more efficient public service delivery.

Philippine government agencies are required to supply one per cent of their budgets to the E-Government Fund, which is worth around 1 PHP billion (US$22 million). “But this is not happening”, Ibrahim told a room of 130 delegates at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila. “Our budget should be more like PHP 12 billion (US$273 million),” he said.

The Philippines government has announced introducing regulations to support convenient e-government public services, including e-invoicing adoption.

Outlined in the Philippine Digital Transformation Strategy 2022, released in February 2019 by the government, the goal is to have fully integrated and deployed e-government systems by 2022. The DICT, the agency in promoting e-governance, is in charge of developing an integrated government portal, which will allow the public to access various government services online. The portal is still undergoing pilot testing, and will likely be implemented by the end of the year, supporting at least online services provided by major government agencies, the DICT secretary told Business World last week. The Department of Finance (DoF) will also undergo a digital transformation and has already developed a long-term strategy with the goal of improving online service to the public.

According to an article by Biometric Update, program beneficiaries have been using their ATM cards for the program as collateral for loan sharks, who use the account holder's ID to obtain payments. The biometric program will ensure that they withdraw the cash personally.

The call was made during the eHealth and Telemedicine 2009 Conference and Exhibition today in Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila in Quezon City, where the congressman noted how the rapid development of information and communication technologies has provided a window of opportunity for the health sector to expand its reach.

Secretary Mario Montejo on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) Yoshitaka Shindo as the Philippines transitions to digital television broadcasting technology.

The Philippines on Tuesday unveiled reforms simplifying the process of starting a business to 6 steps and 8 days, down from the existing set-up 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.

In a press conference today, the Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and 9 other institutions announced the launch of the reforms—a product of continuing work under the NCC’s Gameplan 3.0 synergizing government processes related to easing the conduct of business in the Philippines. Gameplan 3.0 streamlines and simplifies government processes across 10 transactions related to the “Ease of Doing Business” as measured annually by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Government looking to cut queues and bureaucracy to delivery services.

The Philippines plans to create a new Department of ICT to deliver online services to citizens. A bill to create the new department will be passed by June, a Senator said.

The bill will lead to a restructuring of the Department of Transportation and Communication, into two separate departments responsible for transportation and ICT. E-government initiatives are currently implemented by the ICT Office in the Department of Science and Technology.

Launched in January this year, MITHI aims to ensure consistency of ICT platforms between agencies. “Standalone systems and restricted-access databases that stifle synergies between agencies are a thing of the past”, declared Mario Montejo, Secretary of Department of Science and Technology, one of the agencies overseeing MITHI.

While some larger agencies operate their own data centres, smaller agencies “don’t have that luxury” and would benefit from a consolidated data hub, said Denis Villorente, Director, Advance Science & Technology Institute, Department of Science & Technology, the Philippines.

“If we had more computing capacity, gone would be the reason why there’s little data sharing between government and the public,” said Villorente. “It’s a chicken and egg situation.”

The system, called electronic Transparency and Accountability Initiative for Lump Sum Funds (eTAILS), digitizes the processing of lump sum funds and supports the timely disclosure of lump sum fund release information on the DBM website (www.dbm.gov.ph).

The module for the priority development assistance fund has been rolled out during the initial phase of eTAILS project.

Monchito was the guest speaker at the e-Government seminar organised by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). He shared with the audience CICT's vision of a society where citizens have access to ICT providing sustainable economic development, efficient government service, quality education, and a better way of life.

The Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology (DOST) launched a Free Wi-Fi Internet Access project during the National Science and Technology Week activities held in Manila on 24 July.

Initially planned for rural communities only, the project budget was increased by the Senate to 3 billion pesos (US$66 million) to include public schools and libraries, state universities and colleges, parks, rural health units and government hospitals, light rail transit stations, airports and seaports, city and municipal halls, and national government offices.

According to NAMRIA Administrator Peter Tiangco, through the strategic planning project, NAMRIA has found its “True North”, which is a vision of a geospatially empowered Philippines by 2020.