Good afternoon everyone. It is an honor to be here and address the chief executives of Negros Occidental. This is an opportune time not only because our local government units (LGUs) are vital in the success of the SIM Registration, which is being implemented by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), but also because the programs of the Department need the participation and support of our LGUs.

President Bongbong Marcos has made it clear from the onset that he wants digital transformation to be at the core of how we do governance. Serving the people effectively and efficiently now involves the use of technology—the pandemic has made it inevitable. In fact, the health crisis even made us realize that with technology, we have more ways, better ways to serve the people—providing them access to education, health consultations, livelihood opportunities, and even platforms for financial inclusion. The thrust of the government is to ensure universal connectivity so that no Filipino is left behind; and use ICT solutions to improve the delivery of public services.

To improve digital connectivity, we have the Broadband ng Masa Program that would strengthen the ICT infrastructure in the country to deliver fast, reliable and affordable broadband internet access. Under this program is the Free Wi-Fi for All Project, which now has almost 5,000 live sites. We are continuously launching Free Wi-Fi sites in provincial areas through our regional offices. 

The Luzon Bypass Infrastructure (LBI), a 240-kilometer fiber corridor connecting the western and eastern modular information technology facilities, will increase total government capacity to 2,000,000 MBPS in the next six years which is 50x the current government capacity of only 40,000 MBPS. The LBI Phase 1 is expected to reach completion in the first half of 2023.

The Common Tower Policy, which prescribes guidelines for the regulation, installation, and operation of Shared Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructure, aims to fast-track the deployment of common towers across all regions of the country, especially in the unserved and underserved areas. This will pave the way for improved public access to ICT services as well as provide better coverage and a higher quality of service to the Filipino people. 

On e-governance, the DICT has pushed for the consolidation of the E-Government and E-Governance bills that were filed before the two Houses of Congress. These measures will be crucial in transforming governance to one that is digital, anti-red tape, and efficient.

We have initiated the eGov Super App, which aims to become the single application that any Filipino citizen would ever need to avail of virtually all local and national government services. This includes systems development, implementation, and integration of E-Local Government Units (eLGU), a one-stop system that combines all LGU services including permits, contributions, clearances and payments; E-Government Application (EGovApp) that will streamline all local and national government services in a single app, promoting more contactless, cashless and paperless transaction; EGovpay, aggregating all payment channels and gateways in a single system, thus simplifying and standardizing all payment processing and transactions; E-Travel, which unifies all travel applications and documents including health, tourism, OFWs and transport; and the eGovCloud, which centralizes cloud services, simplifying the way the government maintains and manages data storages, and  makes all data useful and integrable. 

The DICT also promotes investments through our ICT industry programs, which help cities and municipalities in the countryside become better suited to host IT-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) companies and nurture investments in the ICT sector. 

We also have the Digital Startup Development and Acceleration Program (DSDAP), which helps cities by raising awareness and offering programs to guide and mentor enthusiasts to improve their respective startup communities. Through the innovative Startup Act, the DSDAP aims to foster an environment of innovative and competitive mindsets among innovators, enablers, and startup enthusiasts, and establish a strong Philippine Startup Ecosystem by providing support that will enrich and strengthen the competitive advantage of Filipino startups.

The commitment of the DICT is to provide every Filipino access to vital ICT infostructure and services; establish one digitized government for the nation; support the administration in fully achieving its goals; and be an enabler, innovator, achiever, and leader in pushing the country’s development and transition towards a world-class digital economy. Our LGUs are vital partners in ensuring the success of our programs because everything is cascaded to our localities, the main players here are our LGUs who will implement the programs on the ground, and the main beneficiaries are your constituents who will feel more empowered when they gain better access to government services. In fact, there are LGUs who are already trailblazers in digital transformation and we also hope to gain knowledge and best practices from them.

Ultimately, what we all want is a better government that can efficiently provide the services that our citizens need and open opportunities for the growth of our communities and better life for our people. For DICT Secretary Ivan Uy, what he hopes to provide is a 24/7 government, one that does not sleep, always accessible; because, after all, serving the people ought to be round-the-clock, all year round. 

Thank you very much to all the local government executives of Negros Occidental and we are looking forward to our stronger collaboration to make ICT work for our people.