Senatorial candidate Herbert “Bistek” Bautista on Wednesday stressed the need to innovate in order to address and fight corruption in government.
Bautista said he is frustrated that antiquated solutions are still being implemented against corruption that is why nefarious activities in government agencies still exists despite the countless efforts to curb it.
“We have already policies in place against corruption. Our system has been operating for the longest time,” Bautista said.
“We’re already in the 21st century but our system is still in the 20th century, in the past century. So we really need to study what would really take to stop it,” said the senatorial bet who is running under the UniTeam Alliance of former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.
“Let’s use technology,” the former Quezon City mayor said.
He noted, though, that corruption cases—like those in PhilHealth and other government agencies—have been getting media coverage, which he said is good since “corruption is being exposed.”
But the most effective way of reducing corruption in all government transactions is to take advantage of technology, thus, “innovation would be crucial.”
Should he win in the May 2022 senatorial race, Bautista said he would push for more digital transactions in government offices to help curb corruption.
“We want to remove corruption so we should strengthen our Internet connections so that our government services will go online,” said Bautista.
“We won’t need to go and pay to city hall or the municipal building. No need to go there anymore,” he added.
He pointed out payments can be made through Bayad Centers or other fintech platforms, while receipts of payment can be sent online, too, like emails, SMS or even Facebook accounts.
“All these are good things that can reduce corruption,” said Bautista.