2. Evolution of e-government in the Philippines

The beginnings of e-government development can be traced to the creation of the National Computer Centre in 1971 to start automating the processes of the Philippine Government. Martial Law was declared in 1972 and was only lifted after the 1986 EDSA revolution.10 After the revolution democratic institutions started functioning and growth-oriented policies were implemented. The Philippines has seen six ICT strategic plans and six implementing agencies in over 20 years, as summarized in Table 1. These plans have often been introduced by the incoming government administrations, were a guiding influence on their implementation and the strategic thrust.

Table 1
Summary of National ICT Strategies and Policies11

Year/Implementing agency National ICT Strategy/Vision Action Agenda
1986-1992 1987 Constitution
Article II “Communications and Information plays a vital role in nation building”
  • Rebuild a democratic government through leveraging ICTs.
1992-1998
Implementing agencies: Department of Transportation and Communication Department of Trade and Industry National Telecommunications Commission		 National Information Technology Plan for the 21st Century (1997)
Vision: Philippines as a newly industrialized country and Asia’s Knowledge Centre
  • Develop human capital (technical and professional)
  • Invest in research and development in high growth sector
  • Partner with industry and private sector
  • Expand telecommunications infrastructure for increased access and information sharing through the enactment of the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines of 1995, for market liberalization.
1998-2001
Implementing agency: Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council		 e-Philippines Strategy
Government Information Systems Plan (2000)12
Vision: Improvement of the quality of living through ICT
  • Provide human resource for IT services (BPOs)
  • Promote ICT diffusion in government, community development and education
  • Pass the e-commerce Act
  • Institutionalize the Government Information Systems Plan
2001 – 2010
Implementing agency: Commission on Information and Communications Technology		 Philippine Strategic ICT Roadmap (2006-2011)13
Vision: Philippines as an Information Society empowered through ICT

Philippine Digital Strategy (2011-2016)14
Vision: Philippines empowered by ICT in a connected and networked society to promote economic and social growth, as well as efficient delivery of public services.
  • Push for ICT diffusion through development of relevant content and access
  • Develop infrastructure for cyber-services (business development)
  • Develop human capital
  • Institutionalize the eGov Fund
  • Push for the creation of a Department of ICT and a national broadband network
  • Encourage transparent government/open governance
  • Develop ICT industry and business innovation
  • Promote digital inclusion
  • Promote digital literacy
2010 – 2016
Implementing agency: Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office		 E-government Master Plan15
Vision: “A digitally empowered and integrated government that provides responsive and transparent online citizen-centered services for a globally competitive Filipino nation.”
  • Achieve transformative e-Governance by enabling the achievement of good governance goals including operational efficiency, transparency and accountability, enhanced citizen’s engagement, and effective delivery of public services.

2.1 EMERGENCE OF E-GOVERNMENT

The administration under Corazon Aquino was the first to recognize the potential of ICTs in furthering the democratization agenda. It was during this period that the importance of communication and information in nation-building was constitutionally acknowledged. The new constitution that was ratified in 1987 introduced the following provisions on information and communication:

Article 2 “... recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation building”, Sections 10, 11 and 19 of Article 12 requires 60% Filipino ownership of public utility corporations and associations and provides for the power of government to regulate foreign investment and monopolies; and Sections 10 and 11 of Article 16 instructs that mass media companies shall be “whollyowned and managed” by Filipinos and that Congress shall regulate monopolies in mass media when required.16

2.2 DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO DEVELOP THE PHILIPPINES AS ASIA’S KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

The 1990s saw two key developments in e-government, in particular embraced by the Ramos administration, which were:

  1. The enactment of the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines of 1995 (Republic Act 795), which liberalized the telecommunications sector and encouraged private ownership of telecommunication services and market competition in the business environment. This legislation contributed to an increase in tele-density and mobile cellular telephone subscription and provided a “solid base for mobile and land-based telecommunication networks”. However, a 2008 assessment pointed to “massive underutilized infrastructure” and a concentration of services in urban areas.17
  2. The launch of the National Information Technology Plan for the 21st Century (IT21) in 1997, which aimed for every business, government agency, school, and home in the Philippines to have access to Information Technology (IT) by 2000. In addition it aimed for IT use to be pervasive in daily life by 2005, and for the country to become a Knowledge Centre for Asia by 2010.18 It directed all government agencies to have Internet connectivity; encouraged outsourcing of IT projects within government agencies to promote ICT growth; stimulated the growth of the Philippine web; and ordered the development of the Philippine Information Infrastructure framework. This effort has been quite successful. Since 2000, the Business Process Outsourcing and Offshoring (BPO) industry has been a significant driver of economic growth, and this is regarded as one of the reasons for the country’s resilience during the 2008 global financial crisis.19 The BPO and IT sectors are regarded as the “most important job generators” as the industry employs a million of Filipino professionals, particularly in the call center and outsourcing businesses.20

2.3 DEVELOPING A CITIZEN-CENTRIC E-GOVERNMENT STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

The Estrada administration introduced the Government Information Systems Plan in the year 2000.21 It recognized ICT as a catalyst for developing new and better services for the public and provided a foundation for creating an “on-line government”. According to Ona et al (2012),22 the Plan is a citizen-centric e-government strategic framework that empowers local government units to provide digital connectivity, develop and deploy web applications and content for citizens, and develop human capital. The key objectives for e-government at the local level were envisioned as: generating revenue, promoting local entrepreneurship, providing adequate delivery of public services, mobilizing and engaging citizens, and promoting transparency and accountability. During this period, the Republic Act 8792 (Electronic Commerce Act of 2000) was enacted in order to strengthen and fulfill the Government Information Systems Plan. The Information Technology and e-commerce Council (ITECC) was created to streamline the efforts of various ICT-related government agencies to “provide effective and focused leadership in the implementation of ICT policy.”23

2.4 HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT

The next phase of e-government development under the Arroyo administration recognized the growth potential of the thriving ICT, e-commerce and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sectors, and made developing ICT a priority.24 ITECC proposed the creation of the E-government Fund (eGov Fund) to fund mission-critical, highimpact, and cross-agency strategic ICT projects of government.25 The detailed evaluation criteria used by the eGov fund to select projects were: their potential to contribute to good governance, enhance service delivery, promote social benefits, as well as financial, technical, and operational feasibility, and nature of deliverables and costs involved.26 Among the projects supported by the eGov Fund under the Arroyo Administration were the purchases of vote counting machines as part of the modernization of the Commission on Elections, computerization of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the establishment of the Philippine Business Registry, the creation of the local government portal and the e-Gov portal, and Community e-Centres.

The Commission on ICT (CICT) replaced ITECC in 2004 and became the “primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating, and administrative entity of the executive branch of Government that (would) promote, develop, and regulate integrated and strategic ICT systems and reliable and cost-efficient communication facilities and services”.27 It was also responsible for administering the eGov Fund. It drafted the Philippine Digital Strategy for 2011- 2016 towards the end of the Arroyo administration with a vision of a “digitally empowered, innovative, globally competitive and prosperous society where everyone has reliable, affordable and secure information access in the Philippines... A government that practices accountability and excellence to provide responsive online citizen-centered services...” It recognized that previous e-government policies were gender blind and redefined the purpose and benefits of ICT for the empowerment of women and men and included plans of action to narrow the digital divide.28

PPPs were given a lot of importance in the country’s e-government strategy, and in fact, “A thriving knowledge economy through public-private partnerships” was one of the key elements of the vision outlined in the Philippine Digital Strategy 2011-2016. However, such arrangements have not been free from tensions, as the case of the electronic passport project in Box 1 demonstrates.

2.5 HARMONIZING E-GOVERNMENT ECOSYSTEM THROUGH E-GOVERNMENT MASTER PLAN AND PROMOTION OF OPEN DATA

Under the Aquino administration, the CICT was placed under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in 2011 and renamed the ICT Office.29 In 2012, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the ICT Office, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), along with civil society groups, drafted the e-Government Master Plan.

The ICT Office is responsible for implementing ICT Ecosystem Development, the use of TV White Space, transforming community e-Centers into techno-entrepreneur centers, e-government harmonization, developing digital competencies of public service employees, establishment of Next Wave Cities to support ICT industry growth, providing support for ICT-enabled start-ups, and strengthening the position in high-growth segments of the value chain in various outsourcing sectors,30 in addition to implementing the Government Information Systems Plan and administering the eGov Fund.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has made it mandatory for government agencies to submit Information Systems Strategic Plans31 with their budgets, as part of the Mediumterm Information & Communications Technology Harmonization Initiative (MITHI), an e-government and ICT support initiative aiming to ensure interoperability across ICT-related resources, programmes, and projects across government. It launched the Budget ng Bayan32 in 2012, a portal which provides information on the budget cycle, and released the National Budget Circular 542 reiterating compliance for the display of the Transparency Seal33 on websites of national government agencies.34

The DBM is part of the Open Data Task Force, which “aims to make national data searchable, accessible, and useful, with the help of the different agencies of government, and with the participation of the public”.35 It has engaged government agencies to submit data inventories and sets.

The programmes outlined in the various roadmaps developed under various administrations do have the potential to increase women’s uptake of e-government, if digital literacy and connectivity issues are addressed. However, the country struggles in implementing e-government laws and policies in a manner that can enable specific, targeted actions for producing tangible, improved outcomes for women.36 There is a need for the ICT Office to work with the Philippines Commission on Women, and other genderfocused governmental agencies and civil society organizations to address the needs of women and ensure their participation – as the following section on a gender analysis of e-government demonstrates.

 

  1. The EDSA or People Power revolution was a series of popular non-violent demonstrations in the Philippines from 1983 to February 22 to 25, 1986 culminating with the departure of then President Marcos, who has been in power through Martial Law since 1972, and the restoration of the country’s democracy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution, retrieved September 2015.
  2. Sherwin Ona et al (2012): “The Philippines: the Quest for Genuine e-Development”, in Hanna, N. K and Knight, P. T., eds., “National Strategies to Harness Information Technology”, Springer ; and the National Economic Development Authority (2012), eGovernment Master Plan, http://www.slideshare.net/godiane/an-analysis-of-the-current-state-of-philippine-ict, Retrieved September 2015.
  3. National Information Technology Council (2000), Government Information Systems Plan, http://www.ncc.gov.ph/files/gisp.pdf Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  4. Commission for Information and Communications Technology, Philippines (2006), Philippine ICT Roadmap, http://www.unapcict.org/ecohub/resources/philippine-ict-roadmap, Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  5. ICT Office (2011), Philippine Digital Strategy, http://www.ncc.gov.ph/files/PDS.pdf, Retrieved 13 November 2015
  6. I.gov.ph website (date of upload unavailable), http://i.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/eGovMasterPlan_Final-Version.pdf Retrieved 13 November 2015
  7. Philippine Constitution 1987, http://www.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-thephilippines, retrieved September 2015.
  8. Lallana and Soriano (2008), Towards Universal Internet Access in the Philippines, http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu. documents/30652696/INTEL_-_Towards_Universal_Internet_Access_in_the_Philippines-Research.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1447419080&Signature=yfyb3ny7WwwUJQzJ7wDI5zmjOyk% 3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DTowards_Universal_Internet_Access_in_the.pdf, Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  9. Philippines National Information Technology Council (1997), Philippines National Information Technology Plan for the 21st Century (IT21), http://www.unapcict.org/ecohub/resources/philippines-national-information-technology-plan-for-the-21st-century-it21, Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  10. Paderanga, C. W. (2011), Private Sector Assessment: Philippines, http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/institutional-document/32479/files/psa-philippines-2011.pdf, retrieved 16 November 2015
  11. IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, http://www.ibpap.org/media-room/ibpap-news/880-speech-of-ibpap-chairman-danilo-reyes, Retrieved September 2015.
  12. National Information Technology Council (2000), Government Information Systems Plan, http://www.ncc.gov.ph/files/gisp.pdf, Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  13. Sherwin Ona et al (2012): “The Philippines: the Quest for Genuine e-Development”, in Hanna, N. K and Knight, P. T., eds., “National Strategies to Harness Information Technology”, Springer ; and the National Economic Development Authority (2012), eGovernment Master Plan, http://www.slideshare.net/godiane/an-analysis-ofthe-current-state-of-philippine-ict, Retrieved September 2015
  14. Information Technology and eCommerce Council (ITECC), http://www.itecc.gov.ph/, Retrieved 13 November 2015
  15. The other priorities of this administration included budget reform, providing universal education, automated elections, improving transportation and digital infrastructure, terminating hostilities with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the New People’s Army, providing electricity and water to all, providing opportunities for livelihood and generating 10 million jobs, and decongesting Metro Manila.
  16. Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines, What is E-government Fund (EGF)?, http://icto.dost.gov.ph/what-is-e-government-fund-egf/, Retrieved September 2015
  17. The qualifying criteria also included the project’s consistency with established ICT plans and frameworks, its citizen-centricity, the potential multiplier effect, and an assessment of whether it would work across agencies. See De Rivera, T. D (date unknown), E-government in the Philippines based on the 10 point agenda of President G. M. Arroyo, http://www.cicc.or.jp/japanese/kunibetsu/pdf_ppt/Philippines-E-government_Implementation_in_the_Philippines_Rev10.pdf, Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  18. Republic of the Philippines (2004), Executive Order No. 269 – Creating the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, http://www.ncc.gov.ph/files/eo269.pdf, Retrieved 11 November 2015
  19. ICT Office (2011), Philippine Digital Strategy, op. cit.
  20. Republic of the Philippines (2011), Executive Order No. 47 – Reorganizing, renaming and transferring the Commission of Information and Communications Technology and its attached agencies to the Department of Science and Technology, directing the implementation thereof and for other purposes, http://www.pcoo.gov.ph/issuances/issuances-eo/EO-47.pdf, Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  21. Department of Science and Technology, Republic of the Philippines, Programs and Projects, http://icto.dost.gov.ph/major-programs-and-projects/, Retrieved 14 November 2015
  22. National Computer Centre (2003), NCC Memorandum Circular Number 2003-02, http://www.ncc.gov.ph/files/NCC20MC-2003-02-ISSP-July31.pdf, Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  23. http://budgetngbayan.com/, Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  24. The transparency seal requires that information about the agency’s mandates and functions; names of its officials with their position and designation, and contact information; annual reports; approved budgets and corresponding targets; major programmes and projects; beneficiaries as identified in the applicable special provisions; status of implementation and evaluation reports; annual procurement plan, contracts awarded and the name of contractors/suppliers/consultants, is put out
  25. Department of Budget and Management, Republic of the Philippines, Transparency Seal, http://www.dbm.gov.ph/?page_id=4273, Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  26. http://data.gov.ph/about, Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  27. Asian Development Bank (2013), Gender Equality in the Labour Market in the Philippines, http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/31194/gender-equality-labor-market-philippines.pdf, Retrieved 14 November 2015.