DIGITAL GOVERNMENT FORMS

DIGITAL GOVERNMENT FORMS

Dear Mr. President: As a former Director General of the National Computer Center, the precursor of the Department of Information and Communications (DICT), I know how difficult it is for National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Local Government Units (LGUs) to comply with your instructions to digitalize their ICT systems to make it user friendly, in line with the goal of the government to promote the “ease of doing business”.

I know of many ways to comply with your instructions, but for now, for the purpose of this letter, I will only mention two suggestions, just to get the ball rolling. My first suggestion is to start by digitizing all government forms, and my second suggestion is to avail of low-cost, subscription only software products and services, to avoid the long and tedious procurement processes.

There are many online forms service providers now, some are for free, while others are for pay but they only charge affordable subscription plans. Google Forms is one such service, and the basic plan is for free. And why am I recommending the use of online forms? The answer is very simple. Once the forms are filled-up, we can already forward those to the concerned agencies for processing. That saves the trouble of applicants travelling and going to government agencies to do the same thing, to fill-up forms. Accepting forms that are already filled-up is the best thing that the government agencies could do, because right now, they are unable to process the services online anyway.

According to the procurement law, all tenders with costs that are above one million should go through public bidding. Based on my own experience, that is a long and tedious process that could even take many months, and maybe even a few years. An the higher the procurement budgets become, the more it becomes more prone to corruption. The other problem is failed biddings could cause more delays because the process must start all over again.

Buying subscriptions only is already a stable and accepted practice for personal and corporate use, including the use for government agencies. For example, my accounts for Zoom, Netflix, LinkedIn and Microsoft are all annual subscriptions that were purchased online with no hassle at all.

Under the procurement law, proprietary software could not be subjected to public bidding, because in theory, they would have no competitors because they have unique Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). Couple that with the fact that since their annual subscription rates are below one million, then they are really exempted from bidding.

Mr. President, as of now, I know of several software products and services for the use of NGAs and LGUs that are already available on a subscription basis. Among these are the usual systems for accounting, human resources, property management and inventory control, but there are also software options that are available for more advanced needs such as disaster management, telemedicine and electronic commerce. Let me know if you are looking. IKE SENERES/09-19-24


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PHILIPPINE INCLUSIVE SYSTEM FOR COLLEGE ENTRY OF STUDENTS

 PHILIPPINE INCLUSIVE SYSTEM FOR COLLEGE ENTRY OF STUDENTS My advocacy partner Mr. Roi Baluyot and I have created the Philippine Inclusive System for College Entry of Students (PISCES), for the purpose of making it easier for prospective students from the marginalized sectors to enter any of the State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) that are located all over the Philippines. Although tuition is free in these SUCs, many prospective students find it difficult to proceed, because of possible expenses that they could not afford, such as books, learning materials, snacks, board and lodging, specifically for dormitory fees if they are from out of town. This idea started when Mr. Baluyot informed me that there are some UP alumni groups in the United States who are concerned about the fact that the the majority of the students who are presently enrolled in the UP campuses right now are mostly coming from the upper classes. That reality defeats the purpose of UP becoming a "university of ...
Read more

PREPARING FOR USAID PROJECT WITHDRAWALS

PREPARING FOR USAID PROJECT WITHDRAWALS The recent foreign policy shifts under returning U.S. President Donald Trump have significantly impacted global development aid, including USAID’s programs in the Philippines. With the United States reassessing its foreign assistance policies, it is almost certain that USAID funding for the Philippines will be reduced . This could lead to the slowdown—or even the complete shutdown—of various projects that have been instrumental in supporting economic development, governance, health, education, and infrastructure in the country. A Call for Proactive Government Action The Philippine government cannot afford to wait until the last minute to respond. The potential withdrawal of USAID projects must be addressed now , not when funding officially stops. A well-planned transition strategy is necessary to prevent gaps in critical services and ensure that the country’s development momentum is not disrupted. Steps the Government Must Take Immediate...
Read more

TELEMEDICINE AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL

 TELEMEDICINE AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL Marinduque Governor Presby Velasco has a wonderful plan to make telemedicine available to all the 218 Barangay Health Units (BHUs) in his island province, and I am very happy to help him with the project as his Information and Communications Technology (ICT) consultant.  Although the technology for telemedicine is already available in the market, it appears that no province has yet implemented a province wide telemedicine project that could connect patients from the grassroots level to the doctors at the municipal halls and the provincial capitol. By doing that, Governor Velasco will be able to achieve the goal of providing universal access to healthcare to everyone in his province. Although the project might appear to be complex, it is actually designed with a simple plan that would make it easy to implement. The one part of the plan is to install internet connectivity in each of the BHUs, using satellite or fiber, depending on what is av...
Read more