The Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) has echoed the President’s call for the passage of the E-Governance Act.
Arta Secretary Jeremiah Belgica said the bill would help institutionalize the transition of the government to e-governance amid challenges posed the Covid-19 pandemic.
The measure mandates the government to establish an integrated, interconnected, and interoperable information and resource-sharing and communications network spanning the entirety of the national and local government.
“We join President Duterte in his renewed call for the passage of the E-Governance Act. We have seen the importance of automation amid this pandemic and we pledge to assist government agencies in their transition toward digitalizing their services,” he said.
The bill also aims to create an internal records management information system; an information database; and digital portals for the delivery of public services.
It also pushes for the digitization of paper-based and other traditional modes of workflows for a more efficient and transparent public service.
In 2020, the President tapped Arta, along with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget Management, and other government agencies, to lead the transition to a paperless government through e-governance.
In September 2020, Arta also launched a series of webinars featuring the E-Governance Agency of Moldova, the Embassy of New Zealand, and the Republic of Serbia to showcase their best practices in terms of e-governance. 30