DILG: 921 cities, municipalities compliant with govt's call for digitalization

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos on Wednesday said a total of 921 cities and municipalities across the country are already implementing digital processes when it comes to providing services to the public. 

''So, 60% ng lahat ng cities or municipalities or 921 are digital or automated na po. Ibi-breakdown ko lang ha. Of the 921, 122 LGUs have their own system ‘no, mayroon silang sariling application; and 799, ang ginamit nila iyong system ng DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) na libre ‘no, na talagang… inikot po talaga ito, nag-caravan po ang DICT rito and I would like to thank DICT here,'' Abalos said at a Palace press briefing.

(So, 60% of cities and municipalities or 921 are digital or automated. I'll just break down the data. Of the 921, 122 LGUs have their own system, they have their own application and the other 799 use the system of the DICT that is free. The DICT had a caravan for this.)

Abalos said the data is as of December 2023. 

He added the compliance of local government units to digitalize and streamline their services would help increase their revenue collection. 

He further said that the significant impact of the reforms on ease of doing business include the increase in revenues from local business taxes, fees, and charges to P208 billion in 2022 compared to the recorded P50 billion in 2018.

“That is times four. So, malaking bagay talaga ito na pasimplehan mo ang proseso, na  (it is important to simplify the process, that) you're into digital,” Abalos said.

The DILG and the DICT have the ongoing campaign for LGUs to utilize the E-Local Government Unit (eLGU) system, where the public can avail services such as business permit licensing, notice of violations, notification system, community tax, health certificates, local civil registry, business tax and real property tax.

The eLGU is among the vital components of the DICT's eGov PH Super App — a mobile application that integrates the multi-sectoral government services in a single platform — covering a wide range of local government services such as business permit licensing, community tax, local civil registry and many others.—AOL, GMA Integrated News