Financed by the e-Government Fund, the P136 millon IT project was an initiative of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and the National Computer Center (NCC).
The portal’s launch at the CICT-NCC building last March 28 was attended by CICT commissioner and NCC director-general Tim Diaz de Rivera and Landbank president and chief executive officer Gilda E. Pico.
Government-owned Landbank is taking take care of the "settlement" function of the portal.
A key component, the ePayment Gateway or eBayad, was launched late year and cost P85.5 million to make and not P160 million as inadvertently reported.
For the e-Serbisyo portal, Diaz de Rivera said government had a budget of P50 million for hardware, software, and services. Winning bidder TIM (Total Information Management) undertook the project for P46 million.
According to a statement released by the CICT, the e-Services portal will serve as the gateway to begin the search for any information about the Philippine government and avail of the services offered by different agencies.
"It allows easy access to government services, such as applying for benefits, requesting civil registry documents, renewing passports and licenses, securing police clearances, and accessing government-specific information," the agency said.
As a one-stop source for government information and services, the e-Serbisyo portal will enable citizens and businesses to get the information and services they desire without having to know the government structure.
The e-Payment gateway, meanwhile, is an Internet-enabled payment portal that will allow citizens and businesses to facilitate online payment for the online services rendered by participating government agencies.
"One of the most important parts of putting services online is allowing an online secure payment transaction to happen," said Diaz de Rivera.
Apart from Landbank and TIM, other companies which participated in the project included BancNet, Data Center Inc., Fujitsu Philippines, and Globe Telecom.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Melvin G. Calimag
Quelle/Source: Manila Bulletin, 14.04.2008
