Digital transformation took centerstage in the first six months of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. with increased efforts to make government services more efficient.
Malacañang identified programs and policies being done to put a premium on “digitalizing, harmonizing, and standardizing government data” in a news release on Monday.
Among those is the improvement of the TradeNet, a one-stop online shop aimed to reduce processing time and harmonize the permitting procedures involved in import and export in the country.
TradeNet was developed and implemented by the Department of Finance and the Department of Information and Communications Technology in 2017.
The Anti-Red Tape Authority, in coordination with other government agencies, will pursue the National Policy on Regulatory Management System (NPRMS), which provides a common framework for good regulatory practices and enforcement and compliance strategies.
“The government plans to advance NPRMS components such as the Philippine Business Regulations Information System to provide stakeholders and government agencies access to proposed and existing government regulations and avoid overlapping,” Malacañang said.
It will also push the Anti-Red Tape Electronic Management Information System (ARTEMIS) to provide a live database and mapping of all government services indicated in the Citizen’s Charter.
To promote proportionate, consistent, accountable, and targeted regulations, the Philippine Good Regulatory Principles will be implemented through dialogues between regulators and entities.
The Department of Trade and Industry, for its part, is pushing for the creation of an Executive Order on Green Lane for Strategic Investments aimed at creating a more favorable business ecosystem.
As part of the devolution of functions to local government units (LGU), the national government will scale up its assistance through needs-based and targeted interventions, such as the Growth Equity Fund.
Under Executive Order 138, or the Full Devolution of Certain Functions of the Executive Branch to Local Governments, the fund shall be proposed to Congress to cover the funding requirements of projects for the poor, disadvantaged and lagging LGUs to enable them to implement the functions devolved to them.
The government will also optimize the government’s information and communications technology resources by developing and implementing interoperable systems that will further allow seamless sharing of data sources, such as the Philippine Identification System and electronic Business Permits and Licensing Service.
Likewise, the administration will address the fragmentation of the justice system through the implementation of the National Justice Information System and Middleware Exchange Platform.
To promote prudent fiscal management and improve budget reliability, the Department of Budget and Management will focus on rolling out digital systems including the enactment of the Progressive Budgeting for Better and Modernized Governance (PBBM) Bill, developing and implementing the Budget and Treasury Management System, and pursuing the National Government Rightsizing Program. (PNA)