Aside from the corruption scandal, another major disappointment in 2025 was the government’s failure to advance on its digitalization goals.

With the billions of pesos wasted on flood control projects, the government, if it has the political will, clearly has the resources to invest in ICT systems to modernize its outdated processes and infrastructure.

A tech expert explained to Nosy Tarsee the steps the government needed to address the tech gap with its neighbors.

It must initially adjust rules that are skewed against technology, which must be treated as part of the infrastructure needing to undergo updating, patching, and replacement on a cycle far faster than ordinary public works.

Rule updates have become a hindrance to the government’s ICT goals, given the rapid advances in modern technology. 

Cost becomes fertile ground for frustration, suspicion, and the simplistic narrative that the offered technology should be the lowest-priced for the government, often resulting in something inferior.   

The procurement process is, at a minimum, a six-month process of notices, evaluations, and approvals if everything goes well.

Realistically, not all agencies have the same level of influence as other large executive Departments, so project implementation and actual public disbursement are delayed. 

By the time the offered technology is approved for use, at the current pace of government, it would have been outdated and the price of the system would have depreciated significantly due to new releases.

Thus, charges of overpricing on the outdated technology are expected. 

Such is the problem of a government attempting to modernize but hampered by delays from an antiquated process. 

Public bidding in the Philippines does not keep pace with modern ICT systems. 

By the time an agency finishes drafting terms of reference, the digitalization proponent said, securing approvals, publishing bids, resolving protests, awarding contracts, and waiting for budget releases, the technology specified is already a generation behind.