Government departments told: Comply with e-Commerce Act

Fears were raised in a recent congressional hearing that the government might not be able to comply with the e-Commerce Act that mandates it to go online by June this year.

In a meeting of the Congressional Oversight Committee on e-Commerce (COCeC), Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Reps. Harry Angping and Rodolfo Plaza agreed to push for the implementation of the e-Commerce Act, even to the point of pressuring government departments to get their act together.

"We cannot tolerate the seeming mañana attitude of our government departments and agencies toward their legal obligations," Magsaysay said.

"How can we promote the country as an IT investment destination if our government is not serious in promoting the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for better public service?" he asked.

Plaza took a more radical stand, saying, "No compliance, no budget if government departments do not deliver soon. This will constitute non-compliance with the Act and therefore, (they) risk consequences from Congress which may withhold or even slash (their) budgetary requirements for the 2003 budget."

In the same hearing, it was suggested that the only course of action left is to pressure government agencies and departments to adopt e-commerce to render improved services.

"In the United States, real estate taxes can be paid online, why can’t we do the same here? A secure payment infrastructure is already in place with the private banks such as BPI, Equitable, HSBC and Union Bank. What’s stopping our departments to replicate these private sector initiatives?" Magsaysay said.

E-government is aimed at simplifying and altering the way people do business with the government. It is easy to promote the benefits of an IT-enabled government to the public as it can streamline processes and provide real services to the people who have the misimpression that the government cannot respond to their immediate needs and complaints.

More importantly, an e-government can help lessen corrupt practices prevalent in all facets of the bureaucracy.

Why is the government not acting fast enough? Some sectors cite budgetary constraints, bureaucracy or plain ignorance of the law. Others blame it on the mañana attitude, ningas cogon or corrupt forces within the government which are holding back modernization.

Whatever the reason, there is now a move to penalize government agencies who fail to comply with the mandate. "But the question remains whether it is compliance for the sake of compliance or if it is done to better serve the needs of the people," said a bank executive who attended the COCeC meeting.