Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 26) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. once again urged Congress to swiftly approve measures to help improve the government through digitalization.
During the National Information and Communications Technology Summit on Wednesday, Marcos reiterated his call for the immediate passage of the e-governance and e-government bills – two priority measures he mentioned in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).
He also said he was told during the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting that lawmakers intend to consolidate the two.
“The bills that we have asked the legislators to pass will enable [us] to ensure fast, transparent and efficient government service for the Filipinos,” Marcos said. “I therefore call on all our fellow servant-leaders in Congress to help accelerate the approval of these bills once again.”
In his SONA last July, Marcos noted that the e-government bill provides for the establishment of a master plan to facilitate the development of all digital government services and processes.
Meanwhile, he also said the proposed e-governance law should promote the use of internet, intranet, and other information and communications technology (ICT) to provide opportunities for citizens.
The President renewed his request to Congress as he said the Philippines ranked 89th out of 193 countries in a United Nations (UN) survey which evaluates the e-government development status of all UN member states.
“This assessment of our performance is, at the very least, worrying,” Marcos said.
“But clearly, we will do better. Our ICT professionals are among the best in the field, and Filipinos are among the most tech-savvy people in the world. There is essentially nothing holding us back,” he added.
