The Department of Trade and Industry, as the temporary Secretariat of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), hailed the Philippines’ 48-notch jump to 19th place in the e-Participation Index of United Nations, citing the country’s notable performance in establishing online tools to promote citizen’s participation in public consultations and decision-making process. The UN e-Government Index is one of the competitiveness surveys monitored by the DTI-Competitiveness Bureau.
“We laud our country’s upgrade in the UN e-Participation Index, which measures an economy’s effort to establish online tools on government portals that promote public participation through public consultation and decision-making process. We expect an upward trajectory as we further pursue efforts to promote GovTech (Government Technology) in the Philippines with the passage of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said. Under Republic Act 11032, a Central Business Portal and Philippine Business Databank will be developed and maintained by the DICT.
The e-Participation Index is a component of the biennial e-Government Survey conducted by United Nations that focuses on the use of online services to facilitate provision of information by governments to citizens (e-information sharing), interaction with stakeholders (e-consultation) and engagement in decision-making processes (e-decision making).
While the Philippines advanced in the e-Participation, DTI acknowledged that the country eased back in the e-Governance Development Index (eGDI), slipping four notches to 75th place, from 71st in 2016. eGDI is the other UN e-Gov Survey component that measures the readiness and capacity of national institutions to use ICTs to deliver public services. Overall, the Philippines posted an increase with higher eGDI score of .6512 from .5766. However, compared with other countries, Philippines’ rank dropped four notches.
“We are pleased to highlight that the Philippines raised its scores in two of three sub-components: the Online Service Index (OSI) and the Human Capital Index (HCI),” told Secretary Lopez. The eGDI covers these subcomponents:
- Online Service Index (OSI) – measures the use of ICTs by government in delivering public services at the national level. Higher score of .8819 from .6667.
- Human Capital Index (HCI) – measures the development of human capital. Higher score of .7171 from .6839.
- The Philippines’ score declined in the Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII), which determines the status of development of telecom infrastructure. Lower score of .3547 from .3791.
The Philippines’ score declined in the Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII), which determines the status of development of telecom infrastructure. Lower score of .3547 from .3791.
Secretary Lopez added that it has already started to implement GovTech through Project One: One Form, One Number, One Portal. This is aimed at improving ease of doing business by streamlining the business registration process in the country, creating a pleasant customer experience that is easy and not cumbersome nor confusing, addressing bureaucratic singularity through whole of government and one-door policy, and promoting governance to focus on data sharing, data accuracy, access to data, and privacy issues.
This project targets to create the following outputs: a content-rich online portal containing information on business registration in local government units; a framework for One Philippine Business Number; and an end-to-end business registration system.♦