‘Every LGU should have an ICT officer’

MANILA, Philippines — A group of information and communications technology (ICT) officers is asking lawmakers to refile a previous proposal mandating all local governments to hire an ICT expert to expedite their shift to e-governance.

The National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) wants Congress to make another push in legislating the Local Information and Communications Technology Officer Act of 2020.

In 2020, Senator Sonny Angara filed Senate Bill (SB) 1943 revising the Local Government Code of 1991 to require the hiring of an ICT officer for each city and municipality.

In an interview with reporters, NICP president Mary Joy Abueg said the legislation of a measure similar to SB 1943 could speed up the transition to e-governance among local governments. Right now, Abueg noted that localities employ ICT officers on a project basis.

As a result, Abueg said local governments are slow to make progress on e-governance with ICT officers changing periodically. She also warned that without standards for hiring, localities may take in ICT officers who lack the proper background.

SB 1943 had proposed that localities may only accept ICT officers if they hold an undergraduate degree in ICT studies like computer science, computer engineering and data science.

The NICP, together with the Department of Interior and Local Government, organizes the Digital Governance Awards wherein localities with the best practices on e-governance are recognized.

Citing data from the awards, Abueg said that just 100 out of the 1,700 localities nationwide pour investments on e-governance. For NICP, this may pose a problem for small towns that are trying to attract investors and grow their economy.