THE Philippine National Police headed by General Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. is on a mission to integrate all its frontline services to the eGov PH super app launched by President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr. last week.

“Yes! That’s the goal of our SMART policing program, that all frontline services of the PNP to the public will be integrated and eventually included in the eGov PH super app,” said PNP Director for Information and Communications Technology Management, Major General Bernard M. Banac.

If plans will push thru, the PNP wants to include into the eGov PH Super App their apps being maintained by the PNP Civil Security Group including License to Own and Possess Firearms and License to Exercise Security Profession, the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management-supervised National Police Clearance and the PNP Highway Patrol Group’ supervised Motor Vehicle Clearance.

Gen. Acorda has already expressed the PNP’s full support to the Marcos administration’s ongoing information and communications technology or ICT programs aimed at fully stopping corruption and inefficiency in government services.

The top cop agreed with President Marcos that “through digitalization and the use of available apps, all transactions can be simplified and, in the end, minimize corruption and other abuses.”

He said he also has instructed Maj. Gen. Banac to plan the integration of their existing apps with the eGov PH Super App without sacrificing security in consultation with other government agencies.

Gen. Acorda said they need to study and further strengthen the overall cybersecurity in this case although he added they also have some limitations when it comes to sharing information due to the Data Privacy Act.

Over the weekend, the PNP chief said that they opened another satellite office in Laguna that will process and issue National Police Clearance required for local employment, government transactions, and other license and permits.

He said the National Police Clearance System operates on a fully digital format that has eliminated some tedious physical procedures in the old manual system.

“As with the National Police Clearance System, the PNP has also fully operationalized the automation of procedures for issuance of License to Own and Possess Firearms and firearms registration thru the Civil Security Group and further devolved to the Police Regional Offices,” Gen. Acorda said.

According to the PNP chief, the PNP joints the Philippine ICT community in promoting awareness and development of ICT not only to serve the requirements of our own agency but on a larger scale, to support the vision and desire of President Marcos to fully digitalize all transactions with government offices and private business applications by as much as 95 percent.

On Friday, President Marcos led the National Launch of the eGov PH Super App and the National Information and Communication Technology Month Kick-off Ceremony in Malacañang, saying that the government must facilitate the rapid development of the country’s interconnectivity infrastructure and digitalization to boost the economy and fight corruption.

“And…the whole idea of e-governance is something that we need to do because we have fallen behind,” President Marcos said as he noted that 95 percent of people’s daily activities such as shopping, bank and government payments are now done online.

The PNP joined the national observance of National Information and Communication Technology Month with the symbolic kick-off ceremony in Malacañang.

Anchored on the theme “Connecting Communities, Enriching Lives, Forging a Digital Future for the Philippines”, the kick-off ceremony of the observance of National ICT Month was highlighted by the formal launching of the eGov PH Super App.

According to Gen. Acorda, the observance of National ICT Month is an opportune time for the PNP to cascade awareness among all police units and stakeholders of the significant role of ICT in the efficient delivery of government services, particularly services related to public safety, law enforcement, and internal security.

The top cop was represented during the National ICT Month kick-off ceremonies in Malacañang by Maj. Gen. Banac.

“The PNP’s 4th focused agenda on ICT Development augurs well with the desire of President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr. PNP for digitalized transactions in all government agencies,” Gen. Acorda said.

“As for the PNP, online transactions for license and permit requirements of civilian clientele, procurement of supplies, and processing of applications for recruitment are now in full digital format and compliant with Republic Act 11032 or the Ease Of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018,” the PNP chief added.

For his part, Maj. Gen. Banac enjoined all PNP personnel and units to register and link-up with the eGov PH Super App, a mobile application that simplifies transactions between the government and citizens.