SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go lauded the passage in the Senate of the proposed “Philippine Digital Workforce Competitiveness Act” which seeks to promote the development of the country’s digital workforce by providing Filipinos with digital skills.

Senate Bill 1834, which was principally authored by Senator Joel Villanueva and co-authored by Go, seeks to guarantee that the Filipino workforce benefits from the job prospects created by digital technologies.

“Layunin po ng panukalang ito na mabigyan ng kaukulang kakayahan at kasanayan ang ating mga kababayan upang maging parte sila ng digital workforce ng bansa,” said Go.

“Dahil dito, mas maraming mga oportunidad at trabaho ang magbubukas para sa kanila at mas madaling makakabangon ang ating ekonomiya mula sa epekto ng pandemya,” he added.

If passed into law, the measure will create an inter-agency council that will be responsible for planning, coordination and implementation of policies promoting, developing, and enhancing the competitiveness of the Philippines’ digital workforce.

Local government units will also be strengthened under the measure, since they will be able to implement local policies that support and promote the growth and development of digital technology, digital careers, and innovations in their areas.

In the creation and execution of training, skill development, and certification programs, the measure will enable public-private partnerships with specialists, private firms, information technology-business process outsourcing industry associations, and other stakeholders.

Go has been emphasizing the need for the country to transition to the digital age by utilizing new technologies and incorporating them into public governance. In July 2021, Go filed SB 1738, institutionalizing the transition of the government to e-governance especially amid the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed E-Governance Act of 2020, mandates the government to establish an integrated, interconnected, and interoperable information and resource-sharing and communications network spanning the entirety of the national and local government, an internal records management information system, an information database, and digital portals for the delivery of public services.

The measure likewise pushes for the digitization of paper-based and other traditional modes of workflows for a more efficient and transparent public service.

Under Go’s proposed measure, the heads of government agencies are mandated to comply with the requirements of the bill, including related standards for all Information and Communications Technology infrastructure, systems, equipment, designs, and other technologies promoted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Go said that his measure will accelerate the transition to digitalization by removing the delays and other issues that come with traditional governance in communications, resource sharing, and information sharing.

More importantly, Go emphasized that the public will feel that the government is truly accessible to them.

“Nakita natin ang importansya ng digital transformation in government. Sa private sector, napilitan ang mga negosyo na mag-adopt ng e-commerce techniques para mapabuti ang mga serbisyo nila,” Go said.

“Lalo na sa gobyerno, there’s no better time than now to prioritize the government’s digital transformation,” he added.