Full automation of state services targeted by 2022

By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star), Mar 16, 2017

MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte wants to fully automate most government services within his term, officials of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

President Duterte approved during a Cabinet meeting last week the establishment of a national government portal and a national broadband plan that would link all government offices, undertakings that were initiated during the Arroyo administration but were shelved because of corruption allegations.

The projects would provide faster internet connection in the country and speed up transactions with the government.

NEDA deputy director general Rosemarie Edillon said the administration aims to automate government procedures as contained in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.

“That’s actually in the plan, modernizing government procedures and that also sits with what the President likes. He doesn’t want people queueing, how do you achieve that? Then you have to go for automation of many of these procedures,” she said during a recent roundtable discussion with reporters.

Edillon said this covers not only government transactions for business but also for citizen transactions.

“He (President Duterte) mentioned that by the midterm there should already be some signed or clear signs that we are moving,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, also the director general of NEDA.

Several government transactions are already automated among these the online ordering system for civil registry records implemented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is already implementing iDOLE technology platform that facilitates the documentation needs of overseas Filipino workers.

A big challenge to implementing full automation of government services is the resistance of most Filipinos to the use of technology, said Edillon.

In the case of the online ordering of civil registry documents, people still seem to prefer over-the-counter transactions.

“People are not really availing of it, utilizing the service because they would rather physically go there. The prefer face-to-face transactions,” said Edillon, citing a report from the PSA.

The iDOLE platform has higher utilization because most OFWS embrace the use of technology more readily, she said.