Gov’t to trim duplicate ICT spending, save up to P40-B

The government expects to save P30 billion to P40 billion annually by eliminating duplicate information and communications technology (ICT) systems across agencies, as regulators pushes to standardize digital platforms and reduce redundant spending.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary for E-Government David Almirol Jr. said at least P100 million of the savings will be allocated next year to support local technology startups.

“We noticed that a lot of savings are happening because of e-governance and the platforms we are building,” Almirol said. “Instead of those savings going to waste, we will give them to the startups.”

The projected savings will come from implementing the E-Governance Act, and the “Once Only” policy, which bars agencies from developing overlapping digital systems.

Almirol said government agencies submitted more than P200 billion in ICT budget proposals last year, but DICT found multiple requests for similar systems, including human resources, payroll and asset management platforms.

To cut costs, DICT is rolling out shared enterprise systems, consolidating procurement of cloud, artificial intelligence and blockchain services, and decommissioning unused digital infrastructure. Almirol said the department has already shut down 60 percent of idle cloud servers that had remained unused since 2023.

Additionally, part of the savings will be used to hire local startups as software developers, systems integrators and research partners instead of more expensive foreign providers.

The DICT is currently evaluating 137 entries in a national technology competition, where 10 finalists will share a P2-million prize pool. 

The startups will also help connect more agencies to the government’s eGov application, which currently integrates about 1,300 systems.