Martin3

Digital Governance

October 28, 2022 Jester P. Manalastas 356 views

THE administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gears toward digitalization, specifically on government records.

This is the reason why the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on assured the speedy approval of the bills seeking to digitalize the government’s voluminous records.,
Pending for approval when session resumes on November 7 are the E-Governance Act and E-Government Act.

According to Romualdez, the House has started its own digitalization project after a team of officers of the chamber led by Secretary General Reginald Velasco learned best practices in this area in a meeting with representatives of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of the United States Congress in Washington D.C. recently.

“The House of Representatives has already initiated its digitalization program and I assure the public that we are exerting all efforts to deliver faster service and eliminate red tape in government transactions,” Romualdez.

Romualdez made the assurance in reaction to the President’s call for the swift passage by Congress of the measure to enable the country to catch up with other nations in the digital economy.

The Speaker said the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology chaired by Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco has formed a technical working group to consolidate two related bills, the proposed E-Governance Act and E-Government Act.

The group is headed by Davao Oriental Rep. Cheeno Miguel Almario.

Romualdez is the principal author of House Bill (HB) No. 3, or the proposed E-Governance Act of 2022.

“I have asked the committee to submit a report as soon as possible so we could expedite plenary approval of the consolidated bill,” Romualdez said.

“We are one with President BBM and the Executive department in making government transactions and delivering services in a faster, more efficient and more transparent way through digital platform,” the Speaker added.

In filing HB No. 3, Romualdez said government policies “must be responsive to the needs of our people, rather than burden them with totally avoidable restrictions.”

He said digitalization “is evidently the most efficient solution to the gap in the delivery of government services.”

His co-authors of the measure are House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos, and Representatives Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre of Tingog Party-list.