Go pushes e-governance

Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go urged government agencies, especially the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to prioritize the development of e-governance systems to make government more efficient, accessible, and responsive to the changing times.

He said that with the coronavirus pandemic limiting physical mobility and face-to-face transactions, all sectors are transitioning to the digital age – from e-governance to e-commerce and also e-learning.

Go cited the need to adopt more efficient, responsive and modern ways for government to transact with citizens to “make the government more in tune to the changing times.”

He added that while most regular private and public operations have been put to a halt due to the pandemic, the need of citizens to transact with government and avail of help has not changed.

The lawmaker cited various levels where e-governance can prove to be useful, including government-to-government, government-to-citizen and government-to-business interactions.

Go stressed that these undertakings will not be possible without swift and reliable internet access in the country.

“The Philippines ranked 63rd out of 100 countries in the 2020 Inclusive Internet Index conducted by UK-based The Economist Intelligence Unit. The Index assesses internet availability, affordability, relevance and readiness using multiple indicators,” he said.