THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

We woke up Monday of this week to several pieces of good news.
First, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced that it is “scrapping” the requirement for “periodic medical examination” for those who have been given five-year and 10-year driver's licenses.
Second, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) shared the news that the first day of the implementation of the e-travel system was “a successful one.”
These pieces of good news followed earlier ones, including the adoption by the LTO of online processes for the renewal of vehicle registration and driver’s licenses. All these show that digitalization is really the way to go, that it can be done, and that its adoption will make life more convenient and productive for the public.
We join our countrymen in congratulating the agencies concerned and in thanking the national government for the bold and determined moves to advance the digitalization of its frontline services. Among the many steps at reform which the present Administration took when it assumed office last year, e-Government is the one that has made a mark early and created a meaningful impact on the lives of our people.
At last, we are experiencing the real meaning of “digitalization.”
Experts define this term as “enabling or reducing processes by tapping into digital technologies.”
“Digital technologies,” on the other hand, refer to electronic tools, systems, devices, and resources that generate, store, or process digitized data. We are familiar with these even when we did not know what the term “digital technologies” meant. After all, we are significant users of social media, online games, multimedia, and mobile phones. Add to this our growing preference for “ordering online,” be it food, clothing, gadgets, or whatever it is that online shopping apps have to offer.
Our “love affair” with digital technologies hit a high note during the pandemic. The buzzword “WFH” became a fad – “work from home.” Late last year, TIME Magazine reported that “working from home” was the biggest change brought about by the pandemic. It also said WFH is here to stay.
And now, we are discovering the benefits of digital technology in many other aspects of our everyday lives.
We spoke with a number of Antipoleños who have recently renewed the registration of their motor vehicles. They were happy with the significantly reduced time required to finish the process since there are only two requirements left which need to be accomplished in person.
The rest of the process is done using the LTO portal. This means they have saved time which they can then use more productively for work and family. That’s it: efficiency is the first benefit of digitalizing our processes.
The second is the reduction in human intervention. Motor vehicle registrants today no longer have to tap the “assistance” offered by unofficial personnel who hang out in LTO offices, approach motor vehicle owners, and promise to complete the registration process quickly – for a “fee,” of course. The reduction in the human intervention also reduces and eventually eliminates red tape.
Local governments have made significant advances in the use of digital technology, too.
The City of Antipolo, for example, has tapped this technology for online payment systems and other services which used to require residents and operators of business enterprises to be physically present. The use of this technology has paid off.
With these online payment systems, electronic business permit and licensing systems and other digital platforms and innovations, Antipolo City aligns itself among the country's top cities in terms of competitiveness, business-friendly and the provision of quality public services.
Thanks to digital technology, our countrymen are set to experience first-hand the reality of efficient government at all levels.
In December last year, President Bongbong Marcos said the country “must embrace digitalization if we are to survive and thrive in a post-pandemic economy.”
That same year, the Department of Information and Communications Technology launched the Philippine e-Government Masterplan 2022, the blueprint for the digital transformation of government machinery. The Masterplan promised to pave the way for the efficient delivery of basic services to the public. It looks like the Masterplan has started to deliver on that promise.
The recent pieces of good news to which we woke up last Monday show that, indeed, we are embracing digitalization and, that in this process, government at all levels is showing the way.
This must be the new normal we have all hoped we would wake up to. (For feedback, please email it to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)