Article by:
Darryl John Esguerra
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has called for wider integration and recognition of digital documents across government offices as part of the administration’s push to streamline public services through digitalization.
In his latest vlog released Sunday, Marcos said government agencies must fully integrate digital services into their workflows to make transactions faster and more convenient for the public.
The President’s call follows the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) launch of the e-Certificate service, which allows the public to request digital copies of birth, marriage and other civil registry documents online.
“Ang mahalagang bahagi rin dito ay dapat i-recognize o dapat tanggapin ang mga digital document ng lahat ng opisina sa ating bansa. Dapat itong kilalanin ng bawat government office upang maging kapaki-pakinabang ito (An important part of this is that digital documents should be recognized or accepted by all offices in our country. Every government office must recognize it so that it can be useful),” he said.
Marcos said digitalization should help reduce long lines and bureaucratic hurdles faced by citizens seeking basic government documents.
He added that the government’s eGov PH services should be integrated into the workflow of all agencies.
“Kung tutuusin, marami na tayong serbisyong sa eGov na kailangan lang fully ma-integrate sa workflow ng iba’t ibang opisina (In fact, we already have many eGov services that just need to be fully integrated into the workflow of various offices). We need to be open in integrating so our digitization program can succeed,” he said.
At the same time, the President stressed that some procedures may still require physical appearance to prevent fraud, citing the case of Alice Guo, who was jailed for her involvement in illegal gambling and other criminal activities, as well as issues hounding her citizenship.
“But having said that, kailangan natin intindihin na ang physical appearance sa ibang proseso ay hindi natin maisawalang-bahala para hindi tayo malusutan ng (But having said that, we need to understand that physical appearance in other processes cannot be ignored so that we do not fall victim to) fraudulent birth registration,” he said.
The President also acknowledged public suggestions on simplifying document correction processes and improving access to identification cards for marginalized sectors.
Marcos said the government is working to expand digital services under the eGov program, while the PSA and other agencies continue efforts to streamline the issuance of civil registry documents and national IDs. (PNA)
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