The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) needs all hands on deck to improve governance through digitalization.
The E-Governance Act, or House Bill No. 7327, a consolidation of 21 related measures, was highlighted by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as one of his priority measures in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year.
The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on March 6.
Marcos' marching order was to "accelerate the buildup of digital infrastructure in the country, so that through information and communications technology, Filipinos have a better and more efficient government that is easier to transact with".
During his presentation at the British Chamber of Commerce-Philippines' "A Year After Build Better More" event on July 13, DICT chief of staff for the Office of E-Government TR Mon Gutierrez provided an update on the DICT's six priority e-governance projects: eLGU, eTravel, eGovPay, eGovCloud, eReport, and the eGov PH app.
The eLGU is a one-stop shop for all local government unit (LGU) services such as business permit licensing, violation notices, a notification system, community tax, health certificates, local civil registration, business tax, and real property tax.
To date, around 210 LGUs have already implemented the Business Permits and Licensing System (BPLS) under eLGU, 450 are in the process of doing so, and 82 have requested that it be installed.
The eTravel system, on the other hand, is a one-stop electronic travel declaration system that is available at 10 international airports and five international seaports.
It has served approximately 7.3 million passengers to date.
He stated that with eTravel, passengers would only need to fill out a single app rather than filling out multiple documents in the past, such as the arrival card, local airport or seaport forms, tourism form, customs form, and health declaration form, when travel restrictions were at their peak due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, eGovPay is a secure one-stop government payment gateway for users of digital payment systems like online and traditional banks, e-wallets, e-cards, cash payment systems, and kiosks.
He said that the service will allow for simple integration, automated reports, transparency, and cost savings.
According to Gutierrez, eGovCloud is the government's cloud-first policy, which supports cloud computing as the preferred technology for government administration and service delivery.
Instead of needing to employ different data centers, government organizations will have access to a centralized cloud system that is standardized, cost-effective, secure, efficient, compliant, and will enable better decision-making.
The People's Feedback Mechanism smartphone app, often known as eReport, allows people to submit a report or feedback to the government.
Users can select from eight categories, including red tape, overpricing, child abuse, women's abuse, accidents, fire, crime, scams, and other problems.
Following Marcos' approval in April, the DICT began development on a single operating system aimed at addressing present difficulties in government services such as excessive forms and documentation, expensive, multiple, and complex websites, time-consuming, and long lineups.
It would encompass other systems such as eTourism, eBusiness, eHealth, eCommerce, eServices, eApostille, eFinance, eLearning, ePassport, and eTransport from 2024 to 2026.
To date, the eGov PH app, a mobile app that allows the public to access government services and information and is available through the Apple Store and Google Play Store, is the pinnacle of the unified operating system.
The app is the Philippines' first one-stop-shop platform for local and national government services, and it will streamline processes and transactions to make conducting business easier.
