NCC helps LGUs, government agencies beat e-commerce deadline

For government agencies and local government units (LGUs), the clock is ticking as the June 30 deadline for the establishment of Web presence draws near.

The National Computer Center (NCC), the lead agency for information and communications technology (ICT) in government, estimates that more than a hundred agencies have yet to establish their presence in the World Wide Web, which is a requirement under the Electronic Commerce Act.

"We should take advantage of what the technology has to offer us," says Dr. Delfin Jay Sabido IX, NCC director-general.

Sabido adds that compliance with the E-Commerce Act would allow faster transactions between and among government agencies and the public.

Through e-commerce, red tape, long queues, graft and corruption could be minimized, if not eliminated. Likewise, citizens who want to deal with agencies only have to access government websites to get the information they need, anytime and anywhere.

"E-commerce provides many possibilities, and now is the right time to make use of it," he adds.

Your gov’t on the Web

But despite the big number of government agencies having no online presence, Sabido is confident that it could easily be worked out.

He reveals that the NCC has developed several strategies to help agencies beat the deadline for e-commerce compliance. One of them is the distribution of free website templates for LGUs and national government agencies (NGAs).

"We have developed website templates, which are now being distributed to LGUs and NGAs," he says. The templates can be used as starter website, which can be further improved by its recipients.

The LGU website template uses the Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) code, which users can effortlessly revise and modify to fit their specific requirements.

The website is easy to use and dynamic. It provides a brief description of the LGU and links to major information, such as Local Development Programs and Projects (in agriculture, environment, etc), Products, News and LGU Ordinances, Tourism, Investments and E-Services.

On the other hand, the NGA website template ensures uniformity in content. It includes the user-friendly Website Content Management System (WCMS) feature which enables agencies to produce content for their site.

"The WCMS is in its simplest form. Those who will use it need not be Web developers to understand the facility," Sabido says, explaining that through WCMS, agencies only have to key in their desired output for their respective sites.

Website content

The usual content for the template includes agency logo, mandate and main functions, organizational aims and objectives, a write-up about the agency and the organizational structure.

Key officials, plans, programs and projects, products and services, reports, publications and statistical information, and the agency’s contact details are also featured in the website.

In line with this, the NCC has been sponsoring free workshops that teach agencies about the template and its WCMS feature.

The workshops, scheduled every Wednesday and Friday, started last May 17 and run until today. After the workshop, agencies are expected to produce sites of their own to be uploaded on the Web.

For those who have no capability to upload their sites, Sabido says the NCC is willing to temporarily host them in its servers.

As sanctions for non-compliance with the E-Commerce Act, the government is reportedly contemplating on budget cuts next year for the agencies concerned.

(The author is an information officer at the National Computer Center.)