House approves proposed E-Governance Act on 2nd reading

MANILA – The proposed E-Governance Act–one of the priority measures of the Marcos administration–has been approved on second reading in the House of Representatives.

Passed on second reading via simple voice vote (ayes vs. nayes) during plenary session Wednesday afternoon, March 1, was House Bill (HB) No.7327.

The full title of the bill reads, “An Act institutionalizing the transition of the government to E-Governance in the digital age, creating for the purpose the Philippine infostructure management corporation and appropriating funds therefore.”

The measure is a consolidation of HB Nos. 3, 277, 1809, 2568, 2683, 2731, 2902, 2963, 2978, 3421, 3612, 4115, 4137, 4261, 4262, 3563, 4776, 4499, 5308, 6882, and 7056.

Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco, chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology; and Davao Oriental 2nd district Rep. Cheeno Almario, the head of the technical working group (TWG) that did the consolidation, delivered their sponsorship speeches for HB No.7327 earlier in the session.

The measure aims “to establish an integrated, interconnected, and interoperable information and resource sharing and communications network spanning the entirety of the national and local government”.

It also seeks to institutionalize a cohesive internal records management information system, a secure information database, and digital portals for the efficient delivery of public services.

The bill promotes the use of the Internet, Intranet, and emerging technologies within and across government agencies to provide citizen-centric government information and services, as well as the  digitalization of paper-based and other traditional modes of workflows for a more efficient and transparent public services

One of the original 31 priority measures mentioned by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in his first ever State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2022, HB No.7327 mandates the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), as the primary implementing body, to harmonize and coordinate all national ICT plans and initiatives to ensure knowledge, information and resource-sharing, database-building, and agency networking linkages among government agencies, consistent with E-government objectives in particular, and national objectives in general.

It also, mandates the establishment of the Philippine Infostructure Management Corporation (PIMC), a government-owned and controlled corporation attached to the DICT.

The PIMC, which will have a lifespan of 50 years, will ensure proper and efficient operations and management of the ICT assets of the government and faster and effective implementation of infrastructure programs, activities and projects related to connectivity, data center and cloud infrastructure, among others.

Moreover, the bill calls for the development and promotion of an E-Government Master Plan or its equivalent that will serve as a blueprint for the development of all electronic government service processes, and workforce to achieve digital transformation in the bureaucracy.

It also allows government cooperation with the private sector “in order to comply or enhance compliance with the provisions of this Act”.

The proposed statute also mandates the creation of the ICT Academy. The DICT shall reorganize and restructure its ICT Literacy and Competency Development Bureau to establish and develop rules and policies for the operations of an ICT Academy.