E-governance may soon be the “New Normal” under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) initiative to accelerate free connectivity in areas which private telcos identified as commercially unviable.

“The enhancement of connectivity will also be strategically positioned in tourist destinations with the help of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and in airports, seaports, and busports in partnership with the Department of Transportation (DOTr),” according to DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy.

The DICT chief also envisions a fully digitalized government where people can easily access government services at their fingertips.

Under his scheme, a single and extensive e-commerce portal for Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will be deployed with the help of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Hence, MSMEs can provide products and services online in an ecosystem where they can take full advantage of digital payments and participate in the digital economy.

“Most MSMEs don’t know how to engage in a digital payment facility," according to Secretary Uy.

"We’ll address that by working with the DTI. All they need to do is to register and post their products or their services and the whole ecosystem where logistics, marketing, payments, access to credits and source materials will be integrated in a single platform.”

Local Government Units (LGUs) will also benefit in the accelerated digitalization through the deployment of the iLGU.

The DICT, in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), will provide a common platform where LGUs can set up their online portal along with their services, such as business permit issuances and work permits, among others.

This will help in curbing red tape and harmonize data from their constituents.

“The whole system will be harmonized. They will have the same data standards and minimum requirements on data harmonization," he maintained.

"There will be common data governance policy while also addressing the cybersecurity side. Your experience in any of the LGUs will be more seamless and when you move or you expand your businesses from one local government to another, you will have an easy time because all your records will be accessible from one to another so the new local government does not have to require the same requirements from you again," Uy elaborated.

“We will continue to provide an enabling environment that supports the needs of our people," he pledged. "We will also continue skill matching and capacity building efforts on our workers.”