MANILA, Philippines - Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo wants to ban government employees from personal use of Facebook and Twitter, to increase efficiency and cut costs.
In Resolution 184 filed yesterday, he urged the House of Representatives to require state agencies to regulate workers’ use of information and communications technology (ICT) facilities.
Quimbo, who was president and chief executive officer of the Pag-Ibig Fund before he ran for congressman in May, said he realized the importance of online communications.
“In Marikina City, for example, the city’s online web portal allows citizens to track the status and disposition of documents and requests submitted to the city government, thus improving local government response time and efficiency,” he said.
“Internet social networking sites also serve as a viable tool for government information dissemination, gathering feedback from citizens and enhancing citizens’ participation in governance.”
Even the Supreme Court recently announced it had joined Facebook and Twitter to provide real-time updates and draw instant feedback from the public, he said.
However, the neophyte lawmaker said despite the Internet’s benefits, “it cannot be denied that the misuse and abuse of ICT facilities and resources pose threats which can frustrate efforts to make government operations more effective and efficient.”
“It has been noted that the unabated and unregulated use of the Internet by government officials and employees during office hours adversely affects their productivity and the quality of service they provide.”
Increased computer use during and even beyond office hours resulted in bigger government power bills, he said.
The government would lose approximately P103 million per month if all 900,000 government employees used computers for two hours of unauthorized social networking every day, he said.
“There is no question that there is a need to regulate the use of government ICT facilities to strike a balance between the benefits and threats it poses,” he stressed.
He cited the positive impact of regulating the use of government computers at the Pag-Ibig Fund offices, where increased productivity resulted in an “exponential increase in its profits, from P2.7 billion in 2001 to P9.8 billion in 2009.”
He suggested the House require state agencies to inform the House of measures taken to ban wasteful computer use before the chamber approves their 2011 budget proposals.
Congressmen could do this when they tackle President Aquino’s proposed national budget for next year, which Budget Secretary Florencio Abad is scheduled to submit to Congress on Aug. 24 or 25.