Recto urges public leaders to team up in developing a unified policy direction for gov’t digitalization

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has called for rapid government digital transformation and urged public leaders to team up in developing a unified policy direction towards this goal.

“President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was very clear in his marching orders of the Bagong Pilipinas brand of governance. Government offices must rapidly integrate digital technologies across the bureaucracy to enhance the ease of doing business, streamline processes, expedite responses, and promptly deliver public services to our people,” he said in a speech delivered by Assistant Secretary Niño Raymond B. Alvina during the Development Academy of the Philippines’ (DAP) Leadership Conference on February 1, 2024.

Secretary Recto recognized the Public Management Development Program (PMDP) as an important addition to the government’s toolkit in developing a unified policy direction for the comprehensive digital transformation of public services.

The PMDP is the Philippine government’s intensive training program that provides comprehensive learning opportunities for those in public service, helping them understand the vital role government officers play in the development process.

Program participants are equipped with leadership and management skills to raise competent public servants.

It is overseen by an Inter-Agency Steering Committee composed of the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Career Executive Service Board (CESB).

The Finance Chief urged public leaders to use the program as a platform for exchanging insights and experiences to identify and implement best practices towards achieving a digitally transformed and future-proof Philippine government.

Secretary Recto said the DOF, for its part, has not only responded to the President’s call but has made substantial progress in embracing digitalization.

Both the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have established electronic tax payment and filing channels along with modernized customs processes that have helped enhance tax collection and administration, strengthen