Technology pitfalls in government
By Cielito F. Habito
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10:54 pm | Monday, December 23rd, 2013
I’ve written before of how we Filipinos have become masters at making things more difficult for ourselves than need be. A recurring theme has to do with government agencies not being able to (or in many cases, employees therein not wanting to) get into the age of information and communication technology (ICT) to be able to serve the public better. To their credit, some government agencies have long embraced the ICT age and have dramatically eased their front-line services to the public as a result. The National Statistics Office is one of the commendable pioneers in this, having made it possible, for more than a decade now, to obtain birth, marriage and death certificates online without having to visit the agency’s premises.
In a recent discussion on trade facilitation, computerization of customs procedures came up as a prominent issue. Efforts to computerize import transactions at customs and other trade-related agencies (such as those providing quarantine and safety certifications) have been underway for years. This is one of the key commitments embodied in trade agreements we are part of, like the Asean Economic Community Blueprint and the World Trade Organization, being a key element in facilitating international trade. Effective use of ICT in trade transactions has been stymied by (1) internal efforts to sabotage such moves, (2) lack of acceptance of electronic signatures in official transactions, (3) incompatibility of various software systems across government agencies, and even of systems operating within the same agency, (4) contractual provisions in the procurement of such ICT services that are disadvantageous to government and inimical to public welfare, and/or (5) plain incompetence or lack of capacity within agencies to fully implement ICT-assisted processes and systems.
It has long been suspected that agency insiders deliberately sabotage efforts to computerize, particularly in revenue collecting agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC). And we all know why certain people would fight moves that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to obtain illicit incomes from harassed taxpayers. The BIR and BOC have both gone through several efforts at computerization through the years, none of which has succeeded in lifting our revenue collection efficiencies to levels more comparable with those of our peers in the region. Unless the top leadership is sincere and intent in making computerization work, and possesses at least some working knowledge of the technology, then this problem would be nearly impossible to beat.
In a recent roundtable discussion on trade transactions, someone lamented the fact that an importer of goods still cannot transact business here without the original printed copies of shipping documents in hand. And yet, the entire shipping transaction at the origin can now typically be done electronically in paperless mode—except when the goods arrive in the Philippines. A printout of the electronic waybill received by the consignee via e-mail is not good enough. It still has to be the original printed copies sent by the shipper at the origin together with the goods, period. Hence, among other things, no advance processing to save clearance time can be done—often a critical element for business. I’ve heard of an agency that’s part of the National Single Window (NSW) initiative to make it possible to obtain all needed trade clearances online. But there, an importer is still asked to print out the electronic form he filed, and physically bring it from table to table for manual signatures by various officers, defeating the very purpose of the NSW.
A major constraint to paperless transactions, I’m told, is that we still do not have the needed laws to make electronic signatures sufficient for official transactions, whether in business or in government. Thus, paperless official transactions still cannot be done. It’s a legal, not a technical problem—surely, technology is not the constraint, as it has reached a level of sophistication enough to address issues on electronic security. Other countries already do it, after all. This is one advocacy that both environmentalists and good governance advocates should be pushing.
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These are today's Suertres/Swertres Lotto tips;
Yesterday's results are at the bottom
066
088
136**
137**
138**
139**
169
149
019
189
369*
349*
039*
389*
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127
178
357*
347*
367*
Yesterday's Philippine PCSO Draw Results
For December 23, 2013 Monday
EZ2 Two Lotto
Morning 11am: 23-18
Afternoon 4pm: 25-26
Evening 9pm: 27-06
Winning numbers in exact order
Php 4,000.00 per 10 peso play
Swertres ‘3’ Lotto Luzon Vis-Min
Morning 11:00 am: 3-8-4
Afternoon 4:00 pm: 8-4-9
Evening 9:00 pm: 1-1-1
Winning numbers in exact order
Php: 4,500 per 10 peso play
Four 4Digit Luzon & Vismin
9pm: 7-6-4-9
Winning numbers in exact order
BINGO Milyonaryo
9pm: B = 5 I = 4 N = 0 G = 9 O = 17 M = 19
4pm: B = 8 I = 8 N = 9 G = 2 O = 12 M = 31
11am: B = 2 I = 0 N = 7 G = 2 O = 24 M = 17
Winning numbers in exact order
Mega 6/45 National Lottery
34-06-36-24-32-09
Current Jackpot: Php 36,225,376.00
(0)winner
Winning numbers in any order
Grand 6/55 Lotto
40-24-08-48-35-09
Current Jackpot: Php 68,715,792.00
(0)winner
Winning numbers in any order
For best results, it is suggested to always employ rumble on the tips above.
* = Hot Numbers
** = Very Hot Numbers
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