The recent disruptions in the eGovPH app were caused by a surge in users and limited cloud resources, as downloads reached 40 million and more government services were integrated into the platform, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Tuesday, April 21.

DICT Undersecretary for E-Government David Almirol Jr. said that the app experienced intermittent disruptions for nearly two days due to the spike in usage.

“So, this is the reason kung bakit po nagkaroon po tayo ng almost two days na intermittent po iyong connection dahil po iyong sobrang dami pong gumagamit (So, this is the reason why we experienced almost two days of intermittent connection due to the very high number of users),” Almirol said in an interview with state-run PTV-4. 

The system, he said, was overwhelmed following the rollout of new features, including the eGov artificial intelligence assistant, eReport system, NBI clearance, and the integration of additional local government units (LGUs).

“Sa ngayon ay okay naman na… nasa 40 million downloads na tayo ngayon at nasa mahigit 1,000 government services na ang naka-integrate sa eGovPH app (For now, everything is okay… we now have around 40 million downloads and over 1,000 government services integrated into the eGovPH app),” he said.

“Inaasahan po iyong sobrang dami po iyong gumagamit kaya na-overwhelm po iyong mga servers (We expected a large number of users, which overwhelmed our servers),” he went on.

Per Almirol, the platform now integrates services from 1,058 LGUs, enabling online access to permits and civil registry services.

“Actually, 400 iyong bago, nadagdag… ang naka-integrate ngayon na LGUs sa eGov ay 1,058 to be exact (Actually, 400 are newly added… the total number of LGUs integrated into eGov is now 1,058 to be exact),” he said.

To stabilize the system, the agency said it temporarily reduced some integrations while addressing capacity constraints.

“Like po ngayon nagbawas po kami ng services sa eGov… kulang din po iyong ating budget po sa Cloud services (We reduced some services in eGov… our budget for cloud services is also lacking),” said Almirol.

According to DICT, some integrations, including those tied to electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) processes, were temporarily removed.

“Some of them… tinanggalan po namin muna ng integration for the moment (Some of them… we temporarily removed some integrations for the moment),” he said.

Almirol acknowledged that the DICT is addressing procurement needs for additional cloud services while coordinating with agencies to share infrastructure costs.

“Talaga pong kulang na kulang po kami ng resources sa ngayon (We are really lacking resources at the moment),” he said.

Despite the disruptions, the agency said usage of the platform continues to grow, with the eGov data exchange system recording around 800 million transactions.

“Nasa 800 million transactions na po tayo… ibig sabihin, hindi na pumipila… puwede nang gawin pala na kahit nasa bahay ka lang (We now have around 800 million transactions… meaning people no longer have to line up… these can now be done even from home),” he said.

He added that the Digital National ID remains the most widely used feature, particularly as millions of Filipinos are still waiting for physical ID cards.

“Blockbuster natin iyong Digital National ID… dahil 40 million po iyong naghihintay ng physical card (Our blockbuster feature is the Digital National ID… because 40 million people are waiting for physical cards),” he said.

Likewise, Almirol assured the public that data privacy remains protected, stressing that each government agency retains control over its own data.

“Kapag nag-click ka ng PhilHealth, na kay PhilHealth ang data… mas safe po ito saka mayroon pong accountability ang bawat ahensiya (When you click PhilHealth, the data remains with PhilHealth… this is safer and ensures accountability for each agency),” he said.

In an earlier interview, DICT said the eGov app has not been successfully hacked despite logging at least 1,000 cyberattack attempts daily.