The CICT, which is meeting in about two weeks, is also setting new conditions to properly distribute the amount. Among the new conditions under consideration is that all recipient-IT projects must directly support President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 10-point agenda. Other potential requirements include support for the Government Information System Plan and compatibility with other IT projects across government agencies.
CICT Commissioner Timoteo Diaz de Rivera said there had been complaints from some agencies regarding “restrictive” policies that prevented other agencies from requesting for more budget from the e-Government Fund, which is primarily for computerization and modernization projects of government offices.
Fund, worth four billion pesos, was used as seed money to start modernization projects. But some recipient agencies were clamoring for additional funding to continue what they started.
Many IT projects filed two years ago did not pass the initial criteria but are still considered to be part of the 2005 e-Government Fund.
Diaz de Rivera admitted, however, that a billion pesos was not enough to cover other projects that have yet to start. Furthermore, some new proposals have higher-than-expected budgetary needs.
“Among these is the ‘Harmonization of Government Numbering System’ that is an alternative to the more controversial national ID system. The first part of that project alone could reach 200 million pesos,” Diaz de Rivera said.
He added that they are considering more projects related to government-to-business development to improve service delivery to corporate entities. These projects could be implemented in agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission, both of which have already implemented basic online transaction services for businesses.
“Before, almost all of the recipient projects of the first e-Government Fund were public- or consumer-centric. Now we’re following the same pattern that is being taken by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) wherein business can transact with them online,” Diaz de Rivera said.
Autor: Alexander F. Villafania
Quelle: INQ7, 24.04.2005
