Marcos OK’s creation of single operating system for gov’t transactions

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has approved the creation of a single operating system for government transactions, as part of efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the country, the Palace said on Wednesday.

The Presidential Communications Office said officials from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) told the President that they were working on a single system that would streamline the processes and transactions of all government agencies.

During the meeting, Mr. Marcos said the agencies should also consider how the single system would be implemented in local government units (LGUs).

“I think it may help when you’re writing the code or when you’re putting the system together, you’re going to have to think about the differences between the national bureaucracy and the different LGUs,” he said.

Officials from DICT and ARTA told the President they are now looking at the processes of different agencies in order to put them under a single system.

LGUs are also covered by the Ease of Doing Business law, which requires them to set up electronic business one-stop shops.

Mr. Marcos also ordered the DICT and ARTA to help LGUs in adopting simpler business permits and licensing systems in all cities and municipalities.

DICT and ARTA officials said they also plan to implement the system for processes involving migrant workers, maritime personnel, and shipping industries.

The Palace said ARTA also requested the approval of revisions to Executive Order No. 482 issued in 2005, which established a single system processing of trade documents. ARTA said the system needed to be updated in line with the agency’s other digitalization and streamlining initiatives. — J.V.D.Ordoñez