Villafuerte sees PH’s full digital transformation
CAMARINES Sur LRay Villafuerte on Sunday said he sees the country’s full digital transformation at hand, given his bullish outlook on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s enactment this year of a law developing and interlinking electronic government or e-government services that will spell far more transparent, seamless, efficient and even graft-free official transactions for Filipinos and the business community.
The Villafuerte, National Unity Party (NUP) president, expressed such optimism following the recent Senate approval of its version of the E-Governance bill endorsed by President Marcos and passed by the House of Representatives in March 2023 yet that mandates all government agencies, along with local government units (LGUs) and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), to switch to digital or Internet platforms for their delivery of services to the public.
Also included in the planned E-Government network are all judicial and constitutional offices plus state universities and colleges (SUCs).
“The switch to e-Government will spell greater transparency and efficiency in our people’s transactions with the bureaucracy, further improve the ease of doing business that will enhance investor confidence, and cut back on, if not do away altogether, with official corruption,” said Villafuerte, a lead author of House Bill (HB) No. 7327 or the E-Governance Act that the House passed on third and final reading by a 304-4-0 vote in 2023.
Villafuerte issued this statement following the Senate’s approval on third and final reading via a 21-0 vote of its counterpart E-Governance measure—Senate Bill (SB) No. 2781—before the 19th Congress took a break on Feb. 8 for the midterm elections in May.
Both chambers will then reopen on June 2 and hold sessions till June 13, when both adjourn sine die to formally end the 19th Congress.
“Now all that needs to be done to link all national government offices, LGUs and GOCCs under an e-Government system is for us in the Senate and the House to come up with consolidated bill via the bicam (bicameral conference committee) process for later ratification by both chambers when we resume session in June and then submission to Malacañan Palace for President Marcos’ approval and signing into law,” said Villafuerte.
A longtime advocate of the country’s digital shift, Villafuerte first introduced in the 17th Congress the precursor of this approved measure on a centralized online government system, the necessity of which came to the fore during the Covid-pandemic years when lockdowns or mobility restrictions were the norm and face-to-face transactions were restricted if not totally prohibited in government and private offices.
“An E-Government system covering all state agencies, SUCs and corporations under the new Marcos administration, as outlined in both HB 7327 and SB 2781, will further improve the ease of doing business and brush up the country’s image as a top investment haven, while letting Filipinos continue transacting official business without actually having to go to the various government agencies themselves in the post-pandemic era,” Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte, along with his fellow CamSur Reps. Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata plus the Bicol Saro partylist authored HB 277, one of twenty-one measures incorporated into HB 7327 or the “E-Governance Act,” that the House passed almost a year ago.
Under the E-Governance proposal, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall be the principal implementer of this Internet-based system that would be organized within one year from the effectivity of the proposed law.
Under this proposal, a secure network called the “Integrated Government Network” will be put up to connect all government websites and applications and allow data-sharing among the different agencies and offices.
President Marcos endorsed the E-Governance bill in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2022.
“This proposal to institutionalize a national framework for a unified digital state system via the E-Government will clear the way,” said Villafuerte, “to more efficient and smooth online delivery of services that will cut back on, if not do away outright with, official corruption in minimizing the human intervention component in government or official transactions,” Villafuerte said.
‘However, e-Governance is so much more than just adopting digitization and digitalization in Government,” he said. “It’s overriding goal is to make delivery of services or completion of official transactions faster, smoother and, hopefully, corruption free.”
“It can likewise make doing business with the government less costly, as doing such online will help people avoid face-to-face transactions that entail transportation and other expenses,” he added.
Digitization refers to the process of encoding information or procedure into digital form that can be read by computers, while digitalization refers to the process of harnessing digital technologies to enhance the operations of the government.
E-Governance refers, meanwhile, to the application of information and communications technology (ICT) in establishing interaction between the different levels of government, business, and the citizenry.
Villafuerte said the congressional approval of the E-Governance Act complements another measure passed by the House and pending in the Senate that aims to streamline government operations.
He was referring to the House-passed HB 7240 or “The National Government Rightsizing Act,” which Villafuerte had likewise authored.
Proponents of the Senate’s counterpart bill led by Senate President Francis Escudero plan to pass SB 890 before the 19th Congress adjourns sine die in June.
The DICT shall draw up and implement the National ICT Development Agenda and E-Government Master Plan, as provided under Republic Act (RA) No. 10844, or the “Department of Information and Communications Technology Act of 2015.”
Every government agency is authorized under the bill to create a plantilla position for Chief Information Officer (CIO) who shall ensure the development and implementation of ICT systems that are properly secured and compliant with standards as determined and prescribed by the DICT, and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, including RA 10173, or the “Data Privacy Act of 2012.”
The E-Government Master Plan that the DICT is assigned to draw up under the bill shall have the following major components:
• An interoperability framework to guide and govern basic technical and informational interoperability of the ICT systems of all government agencies and corporations;
• An Archives and Records Management Information System for all government documents and records.
This will entail the digitization of paper-based documents and records and the development of systems that will manage the creation, routing, tracking, archiving and disposal of all official documents—while adhering to existing policies, laws and ISO standards;
• An Internet-based Government Online Payment System and gateway that will enable citizens and businesses to remit payments electronically to government agencies.
This will involve various delivery channels, including debit instructions (Automated Teller Machine or ATM accounts), credit instructions (credit cards) and mobile wallets (short messaging system or SMS);
• A Citizen Frontline Delivery Services that would facilitate business registration-related transactions by integrating all agencies involved in business registration.
Proposed for inclusion are such agencies and firms as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Bureaus of Internal Revenue (BIR) and of Customs (BOC), Social Security System (SSS), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), Philippine Health Insurance Corp.(PhilHealth), LGUs and other offices issuing permits and licenses;
• A Public Financial Management system to harmonize such financial systems in government as taxation, payment systems, accounting and business registries; and
• A Procurement System providing online and real-time services encompassing all procurement processes involving bidding, contract agreements, and payment for services or supplies.
Villafuerte said the adoption of these six components of the master plan would enhance the access to, and delivery of, government services to bring about efficient, responsive, ethical, accountable and transparent government services.
On the watch of Speaker Martin Romualdez, the House’s superb level of cooperation with the Marcos presidency since 2022 has led to its approval of 62 of the 64 priority measures that the President had either endorsed in his past SONAs or identified with the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).
Villafuerte had authored or co-authored 48 of these 62 priority measures thus far passed by the House in the 19th Congress.
