During his 2nd State of the Nation Address (SONA) this past Monday, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., emphasized the focus on digitalization and online payment systems for efficiency, achieving public service, easing the processes of doing business and cutting graft and corruption, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) report.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…
During his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said digitalization helps in frontline services, back-end functions, as well as supports the government in “data-driven and science-based planning and decision-making.”
“Digitalization is the call of today; not of the future –but of the present. It is here. It is needed, and it is needed today,” Marcos said.
He said government streamlining efforts through digitalization has so far “significantly boosted efficiency” such as in government payments, company and business registration, issuance of permits and licenses, loan applications, and revenue collections.
“All our digitalization efforts will be linked to our payment systems, whose digital transformation has been accelerating at a remarkable rate,” he added.
In 2022 alone, Marcos said digital payments accounted for 42 percent of total retail payments for businesses, individuals, and by the government.
“Its high trajectory is now well-positioned to achieve Bangko Sentral’s target of 50 percent of total retail payments by this year,” he said.
Digital payments – Marcos cited the rise in the share of retail digital payments to 42 percent of the total in 2022, almost near the 50 percent share target of the Bangko Sentral ng ng Pilipinas (BSP) by this year.
Based on the BSP’s 2022 Status of Digital Payments report released last June, digital payments were only 1 percent of the total in 2013.
It rose to 10 percent in 2018, 14 percent in 2019, 20.1 percent in 2020, and 30.3 percent in 2021.
Retail payment transactions grew by 611.7 million in terms of volume in 2022 relative to the previous year, BSP data show.
In 2022 alone, payments made by persons accounted for 68.6 percent of the total, and were followed by the payments made by businesses, 30.3 percent; and payments made by the government, 1.1 percent.
Of the total, 90.6 percent of digital payments volume were accounted for by person-to-business (P2B) payments, 73.7 percent; person-to-person (P2P) and business-to-person (B2P), 14.7 percent; and salaries and wage payments, 2.2 percent.
Authorities have attributed the big rise in digital payments to the impact of the pandemic, which prevented most people from going out, thus the need to do online transactions for most of their purchases.
Marcos said the country’s financial system, which he describes as “the nerve center of our economy”, “remains strong and stable.”
He said banks, the monetary policy’s transmission arms, “have strong capital and liquidity positions.”
With the easing of restrictions put in place during the pandemic, Marcos said, “transactions once again flourished—alongside the booming e-commerce that was undeterred by the pandemic.”
“In 2022, the digital economy contributed PHP2 trillion, equivalent to 9.4 percent of our GDP (gross domestic product). The economy is revived and rejuvenated, backstopped by a favorable enabling environment and the strong rule of law,” he said.
eGov PH app – To eliminate redundancy and further ensure ease of use, Marcos showcased the eGov PH mobile app that aims to integrate all key government services for the convenience of its users.
“The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has been directed to consolidate all these digitalized government services into the eGov PH app to establish the National Government Portal and the Philippine Business Databank, and to improve the internet speed in our country,” he said.
On the other hand, Marcos said the National ID System will serve as the core of a “digitally transformed network of government services.”
To date, he said the National ID System reported around 87 percent total registration.
“We are now closer to establishing a complete, accurate, and reliable digital database of our entire population. This has already been integrated into the eGov PH app, and can be accessed by our citizens,” he added.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Have you been using digital or online methods to settle your dues with government units?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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