House to speed up digital transformation framework

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will step up efforts to provide a “legal framework” for the digital transformation of government and private transactions to “foster economic recovery and spur growth.”

Speaker Martin Romualdez gave the assurance, saying the House committee on trade and industry has already approved a consolidated version of the proposed Internet Transaction Act or E-Commerce Law, which is among the 20 priority measures President Marcos mentioned in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The bill proposes to create an E-commerce Bureau to regulate internet commercial activities and protect consumers who engage in online transactions.

“We are well on our way in our commitment to support measures that would hasten the country’s digital transformation to enable the government to provide faster and more efficient service to the public and ensure safe and secure digital commercial transactions,” he said.

Romualdez added the House is also working “equally hard” for the passage of the proposed e-Government Act and e-Governance Act, also among the priority measures of the Marcos administration.

Last week, the House committee on information and communications technology created a technical working group to consolidate and fine-tune the provisions of the proposed e-Governance Act and e-Government Act.