Consumer group presses urgent passage of e-governance bill

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MANILA, Philippines — A consumer group on Wednesday appealed to legislators to expedite the passage of the E-Governance Act to promote digitalization for faster and more effective delivery of services.

CitizenWatch Philippines said lawmakers should now make their move since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. committed to certifying the proposed E-Governance Act as urgent during his meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council on January 12.

READ: PSAC: Marcos commits to certify E-Governance Act as urgent

CitizenWatch co-convenor Orlando Oxales stressed the urgency of approving the bill, saying it would allow the government to transition “from the slow and obsolete bureaucratic gauntlet of red tape to a digitized system that can deliver public services effectively and swiftly.”

According to him, the proposed law coincides with the President’s bid to improve bureaucratic efficiency and fight corruption through the digitalization of government services.

He also argued that good intentions and well-conceived government projects are not enough if agencies in charge of implementation are ill-equipped. He believed that the maintenance of projects is bound to be derailed without a digitally driven government ecosystem backed by a properly skilled workforce.

“If there are no effective processes in place, they will continue to suffer long delays, wastage of resources, and may even fail,” Oxales said in a statement.

“We know this too well – we’ve seen this happen because implementing agencies are not enabled with the right digital technologies, connectivity, and skilled workforce,” he added.

READ: Digitalization of gov’t services gets priority

Oxales also reiterated that the digitization of the government system would result in transparency which will limit opportunities for corruption.

“We appeal to our lawmakers to act now,” Oxales said. “So much time has been lost already.”

The E-Governance Act is seen to require the government to establish an interconnected, interoperable, and integrated information and resource-sharing communications network which spans the entirety of both the national and local government levels.

Such system is expected to improve and enhance the delivery of government services and ensure bureaucratic efficiency.

Oxales said that the private sector, through the PSAC, has made recommendations to the bill and has added provisions that would make it more responsive and effective.

The Digital Infrastructure group of PSAC includes Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Transformation Officer Henry Aguda, Globe Telecom CEO Ernest Cu, PLDT CEO Al Panlilio, Converge CEO Dennis Uy, and BPI EVP & COO Ramon Jocson.

“Harnessing the private sector’s more advanced experience and expertise in optimizing the utility of digital technologies will be critical,” Oxales said. “Our bureaucracy has been trapped too long in its outdated processes and could use the innovative insights of the business community.”

“This measure has the support not only of the chief executive but of the private sector, which drives the country’s economic engines,” he said. “They join the clamor for a long overdue ‘upgrade’ of the entire bureaucratic system.”

“We need the e-Governance/e-Government Acts to enable the fast transformation of our government ,” he added. — Vance Chan, INQUIRER.net trainee

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