By Brian Campued
Following the rollout of transparency portals of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Social Security System (SSS) earlier this week, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) assured that more transparency portals will be launched soon.
In a press briefing at Malacañang on Friday, DICT Sec. Henry Aguda said this initiative is part of the administration’s proactive efforts to combat corruption amid investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control and other infrastructure projects.
“Malinaw ang mensahe ng Pangulo (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.): Gamitin ang teknolohiya para labanan ang korapsyon. Gawing episyente ang serbisyo at ibalik ang tiwala ng publiko sa gobyerno. Ang transparency portal ay bahagi ng mas malaking vision para sa digital governance,” Aguda stressed.
The government transparency portals utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data and are designed to make government spending information more transparent and easily accessible to the public.
“Ang goal natin ay magkaroon ng malawak na digital transparency system kung saan bawat Pilipino ay may access sa malinaw at updated na impormasyon tungkol sa pera na ginagamit ng gobyerno,” the DICT chief said.
Aguda emphasized that through the transparency websites, the public can be government watchdogs—ensuring that their taxes are used efficiently and properly.
“Sa simpleng logic: Mas maraming mata sa datos, mas mahirap magtago ng anomalya. Ang bawat Pilipino ay puwedeng maging watchdog ng gobyerno,” he continued.
Aguda said that a handful of agencies have already expressed willingness to have their transparency portals, including the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Health.
For Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Aguda said that a joint memorandum order is being drafted by the DICT and the Governance Commission for GOCCs to build their servers—since their data, which are filed with regulatory bodies, are more accessible.
“Nauna lang po ang DPWH, PhilHealth, at SSS. Mga susunod na linggo po, nakikipag-ugnayan na po kami sa mga ibang ahensiya, eh wait and there’s more. So in the coming weeks po, lalabas po iyong mga transparency portal ng mga ibang ahensiya. Matapos ang taon, magiging standard na iyan at normal,” Aguda noted.
-jpv
