Fortunato dela Pena, undersecretary for information and communications technology of the science department, said that ITECC expects to have a shortlist of "feasible" projects by the end of August.
At least four government IT projects have already been identified as "priority," Dela Pena said.
These projects include a portal of overseas Filipino workers by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, the national business registration of Department of Trade and Industry, the e-LGU project of the National Computer Center (NCC), and the Philippine government portal also with the NCC.
Dela Pena said that the e-government committee of ITECC would likely choose government projects that are reflective of "ITECC's strategic roadmap."
The Commission on Elections has been an early beneficiary of the e-government fund, receiving 1.2 billion pesos for the purchase of counting machines and transmission system for the 2004 polls, said Emilia Boncodin, secretary of the Department of Budget and Management during a forum Thursday.
Malacanang has also asked DBM to set aside budgets out of the e-government fund for modernization projects of the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue, therefore reducing the original 4-billion-peso e-government fund to about 2 billion pesos, Dela Pena said.
He said that the ITECC e-government committee might also decide to "merge" some government IT projects, particularly those that have overlapping features and objectives.
"We might have to do this because our resources are scarce," he added.
Quelle: Philippines Daily News
