World Bank pushes development of digital network in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The development of the country’s digital infrastructure will make government services more efficient and prevent corruption, a new World Bank report said.

In its Philippine Digital Economy Report 2020, the World Bank, in coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority, assessed the state of the digital economy in the Philippines and prescribed policy recommendations to boost digital adoption, narrow the digital divide and address the new normal brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report said the government can effectively use digital technology to empower its constituents and deliver services, if institutions that guarantee accountability are established and strengthened.

Using digital technologies will improve the monitoring of government workers and government-funded organizations that deliver services and help curtail absenteeism, operational inefficiencies, and corruption, it said.

“Digital technologies can also improve electoral accountability, help uncover election fraud, and reduce election-related violence.  Automation in business regulations, citizen feedback systems, and procurement systems also reduce the risk of corruption and poor services,” the World Bank report said.

The report also pointed out that the Philippines performed worse than regional peers in  digital adoption.

Among the country’s weaknesses were, “the fragmentation of human resources management information system (HRMIS) and government payroll across line ministries; the disconnect of online portals such as the e-custom portal to other government systems; the limitations of e-procurement systems from allowing online transactions; and the inability in the budget system to dynamically query from line ministries or financial management information systems.”

To improve digital infrastructure and connectivity, the report recommended greater private sector participation.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said he supports the recommended key reforms and policy measures to help the Philippines leverage digitalization for economic and social resilience, especially in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that download speeds for fixed broadband have been improving partially due to increased capital expenditures and network improvements by telecom companies.

He cited the August 2020 OpenSignal report showing “a substantial 80.9-percent increase in download speeds and 4G availability, rising 19.5 percentage points from 63.75 percent to 83 percent over a period of 2.5 years.”

The OpenSignal report showed that mobile 4G availability in the Philippines has been increasing for at least two and half years and nearing the global average of 86.8 percent.

Independent think tank Stratbase ADR Institute president Dindo Manhit said in a statement that the government should create an empowering policy and regulatory agenda to extensively expand access to broadband services to all Filipinos.

“Harnessing the expertise and resources of the private sector will greatly accelerate the pace of operationalizing these technologies that we must now rely on because of the health and economic crisis,” he said.

“The digital transformation of the government bureaucracy will have a game-changing impact that will have systemic benefits that will go way beyond the pandemic crisis,” Manhit said.