Digital divide, lack of infrastructure hamper e-government system

MANILA, Philippines — Digital divide, inadequate information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, and outdated laws have hampered the delivery of an efficient electronic government system, according to study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

These factors need to be addressed as a sound e-government system is crucial to the efficient delivery of services in the ‘new normal’ amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a paper titled “Innovating governance: Building resilience against COVID-19 pandemic and other risks,” PIDS researchers Aubrey Tabuga, Sonny Domingo, Charlotte Justine Sicat and Valerie Gilbert Ulep emphasized the importance of e-government in the seamless delivery of government services during a pandemic and other similar crises.

The authors said “the application of e-government solutions has remained incremental” in the Philippines.”

The long-standing challenges in the use of ICT, which have been magnified amid the COVID-19 pandemic, were revealed by the manual distribution of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) and the lack of real-time submission of surveillance data from local government units (LGUs)

The study cited some barriers that could hamper the progress of realizing the potentials of e-government in developing countries like the Philippines.

One is digital divide, which reveals the gap between those who have access to computers and the internet and those with no access.

Another issue cited is the inadequacy of ICT infrastructure, including the lack of technological skills among leaders, employees, citizens, and vulnerable population; lack of qualified IT developers or managers; lack of interoperability or lack of shared standards and compatible infrastructure across government agencies and lack of hardware.

The study also tagged the country’s ICT legal framework as “outdated laws and policies, overlapping functions of authorities can hinder the implementation of e-government initiatives.”

“The complex laws and regulations can also increase the cost of collaboration for various agencies,” the authors said.

E-government was introduced in the country in 2000 through the inception of the Government Information System Plan (GISP), which was aimed at computerizing government operations and activities. Following the GISP are e-government reforms such as the e-Commerce Act and the e-Procurement Act.