Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said a strong government-private sector partnership is needed to help the Philippines breach the digital divide and achieve financial inclusion for all Filipinos.

Dominguez said the government is fully aware that the private sector’s expertise and initiative to adopt digital innovations will help the country as it adjusts to the rapid changes in the emerging new economy. 

For this reason, Dominguez said the government has always encouraged a close working relationship with the private sector in the implementation of its digitalization efforts.

He added that the government also encouraged the rapid adoption of financial technologies (Fintech) in the country by putting in place a liberal regulatory environment to enable these digital tools to flourish.

“I am confident that a strong partnership between the private sector and the government will help the Philippines breach the digital divide and achieve President Duterte’s goal of financial inclusion for all Filipinos,” Dominguez said.

On the part of the Department of Finance (DOF), Dominguez said the government’s main revenue agencies under its wing have fully embraced digitalization with the help of the private sector. 

Both the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs have set up a number of e-payment and e-filing channels to improve tax collection and administration, curb corruption and enhance the business climate in the country, Dominguez said. 

He said these digital transformation initiatives by the Customs and BIR have proved crucial to the collection of revenues when COVID-19 struck. 

For instance, 90 percent of annual income tax returns (ITRs) were filed electronically last year, while almost 100 percent were also done online this year, Dominguez said.

On top of these digitalization initiatives at the revenue agencies, the government has also rolled out its national digital ID system to further hasten the  transition to e-governance and transform how public services are accessed and delivered in the country, he said. 

The government also launched mobile applications that allow small investors to buy and sell Philippine retail treasury bonds (RTBs) using their smartphones and other digital devices. 

It also transformed the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) into the Philippines’ first branchless digital-only bank in the country’s history.

He said the DOF is also developing a cost-effective strategy to shield financial systems from potential cybersecurity threats and safeguard all investors from fraud and privacy threats.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), for its part, is spearheading reforms to provide a regulatory environment that promotes an efficient, inclusive, safe and secure digital payments ecosystem, Dominguez said.