TECH4GOOD
Monchito Ibrahim
By the time this column gets off the block, Filipinos would already have an idea as to who its next leader will be. Campaign colors would not matter anymore because the nation would already have spoken. It is now time for every Filipino to accept the will of the majority and start gravitating toward just one direction, the one for which the new leader would set for the country.
We have seen the polarization of the country during the campaign period brought about by all the opposing forces so bent on getting the support of the voters. And all these years, we have always seen how passionate Filipinos can be when it comes to politics. It is just natural that the results would not be easily digested by those whose candidates did not come out as winners. But that is what democracy is all about. The dynamics can be very deafening, especially in the context of Philippine politics. However, what is important is how we move on with life after the smoke has dissipated. Every transition in the country’s leadership brings new beginnings and every new beginning brings hope and heightened aspirations for a better Philippines.
So, what do I hope to see in the next six years?
I have a list that keeps on getting longer every time a new administration gets on board. I keep on adding to the list and seeing nothing done at the end of each administration. I remember reading a book titled “Hope is not a strategy” by Rick Page. So, this time, I would like to present a couple of prescriptions to the incoming President that, in my opinion, would be very critical to the future of the country.
Digital is the future for the Philippines. Without it, life during this pandemic would have been much more challenging. The pandemic has certainly accelerated the adoption of these technologies to a level we would not have imagined before it happened. Everyone suddenly became adept technology users overnight. Although the government quickly responded to the situation by enabling most of its services to be delivered online,it is not to the level we would have wanted it done to reflect the delightful experience we would like to see.
Digitalization is not just about making resiliency possible. It can also be used to drive faster and more inclusive economic recovery.
Digital by design is the new mantra of most countries. This kind of mindset will bring real change and create better opportunities for everyone. It is a deliberate move to transform the country into a more efficient and very competitive economy able to position itself well in the global value chain. However, most of the government digitalization initiatives we are currently seeing are typically done in silos, very much aligned to the specific mandates of the agencies implementing them, and inward-focused. What we need to see is a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation. And it should not just be about digitizing government but should be so broad enough to also impact society in general.
Next month marks the 6th year of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Despite the early struggles it had to go through related to getting itself properly organized and its measly operating budgets, it is now in a much better position to create impact. But it needs more attention directly from the top and maybe add more teeth to its powers to effectively shepherd an honest-to-goodness digital transformation of the country.
Harmonizing all these digital transformation initiatives in government to make it a whole-of-government program is the holy grail that a young department like the DICT may not be able to effectively handle considering the kind of attention it is getting from the top.
My first prescription to the incoming administration is for it to create a task force that will drive a whole-of-government digital transformation program. It should be chaired by the President and co-chaired by a cabinet-level Presidential Adviser. The task will also involve the development of a roadmap complete with goals, strategies, outcomes, and policy recommendations.
It will be assisted by a working group to be led by the DICT Secretary and composed of undersecretaries of all the national government agencies, chairs of all the regional development councils, and senior representatives of the business, digital technology, and academic sectors.
Learning from what our ASEAN neighbors are doing, my second prescription is to develop a digital transformation roadmap that really reflects our aspirations toward becoming a digital society. The development should adhere to a bottoms-up approach that will involve major stakeholders to make it a dynamic and inclusive working document.
The digital transformation of Philippine society and most especially the integration of a digital government will certainly create the right foundation for global competitiveness, efficiency, minimizing corruption, safe computing, a much better experience whenever we transact with the government, and better quality of life for all. I hope the incoming administration would make this among its top priorities.
The author is the lead convenor of the Alliance for Technology Innovators for the Nation (ATIN), vice president of the Analytics Association of the Philippines, and vice president, of the UP System Information Technology Foundation.