The proposed eBayad Act was approved on third and final reading on Monday night, March 16 after it breezed through nominal voting in the 300-plus strong House of Representatives.

Garnering 257 affirmative votes during plenary session Monday was House Bill (HB) No. 8468. Only three House members voted in the negative, while there were no abstentions.

"The eBayad Act brings government transactions closer to the daily rhythm of people’s lives by making payments faster, easier and more practical,” House Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos said after the bill's final approval was declared.

As its name implies, the proposed statute sought to make digital payments a regular part of government transactions--a shift lawmakers said would spare Filipinos from long queues, repeated trips, and unnecessary waiting when paying fees or receiving money from the State.

The eBayad Act adopts and regulates the use of digital payment systems for government financial transactions and all merchants, with the declared policy of promoting financial inclusion, encouraging efficient delivery of services, expanding access to financial tools, and supporting safer and more innovative payment systems for both government and the public.

At the heart of the bill is a broad mandate for all covered government agencies to use safe, efficient and inclusive digital disbursement for the payment of goods, services, and other expenditures, including cash assistance, as well as the payment of salaries, wages, allowances, and honoraria of employees.

To make the shift workable on the ground, the measure authorizes covered agencies to directly send funds to a recipient’s account through automatic debit arrangements, interoperable electronic fund transfers or other facilities of government-serving payment service providers, so assistance and payments can reach people with fewer steps.

On the collection side, HB No.8468 will require covered agencies to offer digital collection as a mode for taxes, tolls, imposts and other revenues, including non-income collections and receipts, while keeping cash as an option, and it also recognizes electronic official invoices or receipts as valid proof of payment, subject to existing accounting, audit and tax rules.

To keep procurement disciplined and consistent across government, the bill creates a steering committee chaired by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP], with key agencies as members, to guide implementation, promote cost-efficiency and transparency in acquiring digital payment solutions and resolve issues that may arise as agencies transition to digital systems.

The measure also gives local government units (LGUs) a role in accelerating adoption among merchants by mandating them to craft ordinances that provide monetary or non-monetary incentives, including reduced fees or other support, and to extend assistance especially to small and micro-merchants like market vendors, tricycle operators and food stalls so they can accept digital payments without being left behind.

To encourage wider use while keeping costs fair, the eBayad Act directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to craft incentive programs that promote digital payments, prescribes graduated pricing or outright exemption for micropayments as may be set by the BSP in consultation with stakeholders, and mandates the BSP to formulate a multi-year roadmap aligned with the e-government masterplan, with targets and outcomes for at least five years.

The bill sets a transition period of up to three years, with tiering guidelines to reflect agency capacity, while placing heavy emphasis on security by requiring that data, information and ICT systems used for digital payments be protected at all times, and by laying out duties for payment service providers on security, data privacy, cooperation with Commission on Audit (COA) post-audits and compliance with payment system agreements.

Violations of the measure, its implementing rules and BSP directives will carry penalties, including fines ranging from P200,000 to P2 million and imprisonment of two to 10 years, or both, without prejudice to sanctions under the National Payment Systems Act, while COA will issue pertinent rules for post-audit of digital payments involving government transactions.

HB No.8468 was just one of several Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority measures approved on Monday.

Marcos credited the House’s work pace under Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, and noted that the chamber had been steadily turning administrative reforms into measures that truly benefits the people.

“Under Speaker Dy, the House has kept its eyes on reforms that remove friction from everyday life. We are not merely passing bills for the record. We are shaping a government that works with less delay and more dignity for the public,” Marcos said.