The leading advocacy coalition representing foreign investors is urging the government to strengthen its policies on cloud-enabled governance to further improve the country’s ease of doing business and make the entry of investments more seamless.
In a statement on Wednesday, April 8, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) said there is still room for improvement in the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 12254, or the E-Governance Act.
Released last month, the IRR operationalizes the law, which mandates the adoption of digital technologies to improve the efficiency and transparency of government services.
In particular, the IRR directs government agencies to adopt common standards, prioritize cybersecurity, and revamp processes to ensure they are citizen-centered.
While these are positive developments, JFC said cloud-enabled governance remains a crucial aspect that the IRR could further improve.
“Building on the foundations laid out in the newly issued IRR, there are opportunities to further strengthen cloud-enabled governance in ways that also support ease of doing business, reduce administrative burdens, and enhance regulatory predictability,” JFC said.
Cloud-enabled governance, referred to as the “backbone” of modern digital transformation, enables the development of more efficient, accessible, and reliable digital public services.
JFC is recommending that the government boost this component through centralized standards, risk-based deployment, flexible cloud strategies, and coordinated implementation.
“We view these areas as opportunities to enhance legal certainty and the durable implementation of the law,” it said.
JFC, however, said the IRR is still a step in the right direction, as it institutionalizes e-governance as a cornerstone reform to improve citizen-centered service delivery.
JFC added that it looks forward to collaborating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to fully maximize the E-Governance Act.
JFC is a coalition of the American, Canadian, European, Japanese, and Korean chambers of commerce, as well as the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc. (PAMURI).