Oriental Mindoro board discovers benefits of infotech

The Oriental Mindoro provincial board has taken advantage of the benefits of information technology.

Members of the provincial board, each aided with a laptop computer, agreed to the idea of Vice Gov. Maria Estela Felipa Aceron for a paperless session. 

During its regular session last Sept. 22, the board ran through its first paperless session.

“It is to be noted that each session of the provincial board required voluminous papers and cost at least P8,000 for (them), including reproduction expenses,” Aceron told the board’s staff during an earlier orientation workshop.

“With the paperless session, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan could save more or less P30,000 aside from the fact that this initiative would help save trees since the lesser paper being used, fewer trees are needed to be cut,” she added.

With the new process, the board members will get rid of documents filing up on their tables and the burden of finding anything on these papers during sessions.

This, as all matters for deliberation are stored in a computer-based program designed to easily locate all subjects, including all related documents. 

The order and calendar of business is also displayed on a wide screen through the use of an LCD projector. 

The present set-up makes the work of the board’s secretariat easier and faster, said Diwata Fetizanan, secretary to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. 

She said they can now instantly edit and finalize those matters being deliberated upon by the board during each session without referring anymore to the documents where they wrote their notes, as was the practice before.

Aceron said she is optimistic that in no time, all legislative bodies in the province - and in other provinces, too - will adapt the same process and fully enjoy and appreciate the benefits of modern technology.