Philippine Mobile Government / Sheila Echiverri-Villanueva

Date : May 25, 2017
Number of Pages : 71 leaves
Adviser : Dr. Serafin D. Talisayon

Abstract

The basic and universal cornerstones of good governance are quality of service, quick response mechanisms and above all accountable and transparent process mechanism. Governments around the world have long recognized the need and potential of information and communications technology to foster a more accessible government for the people. While e-government is usually defined as the conventional government services made available for all users through electronic means such as computers connected to the internet, mobile government of m-government is defined as the overall strategy and processes for delivering various public services through all kinds of wireless and mobile technologies, applications and devices to all users, including residents, government departments and agencies and businesses. M-Government is envisaged to propel the functioning of the government, at the next higher level. It is the adoption of mobile technologies to support and enhance government performance and foster a more connected society- can help improve government performance and strengthen public good governance provided.

Phl M-Gov Project intends to evaluate the prospect of expanding the capacity of traditional governance and e-government to deliver citizen-and business-centric services through appropriate assimilation of mobile technology in its processes. By presenting a strategic foresight, the project hopes to provide a relevant input to policies and future actions that will reinforce e-government strategies in addressing the digital divide and will extend the benefits of remote delivery of government services and information. The objective of this foresight report is to conduct a ten year foresight for mobile technology employment in Philippine governance, specifically in citizen and business centric services.

As important as when the government embarked on electronic government decades ago when digitization and internet connectivity gained its ground in governance, the decision to adopt mobile technology in government to support government performance and hone a more connected society became inevitable. Hence, m-government is emerging as the next big wave for information and communications technology (ICT) use in the public sector.

More countries recognize the value of mobility in government and have taken initiative in assimilating mobile technologies and procedures in the performance of national governance and citizen service. The application of mobility in public sector operations verifies the claims to benefits of critical components of government. Some of these are :

• M-government enforces existing on-line and off-line modalities of service delivery and affords remarkable and transformational capacity to the public sector by facilitating the design and delivery of new services such as inclusive governance, policy development and public engagement.
• M-Government empowers citizens by providing quick and efficient access to government for education, health, public safety, financial, transportation and other services.
• M-government also intensifies partnerships and exchange between the public and private sectors
• M-government enhance public sector performance and good governance

M-government is classified into four types of services : mG2C, mG2B, mG2G, mG2E.

M-Government can be applied to four main purposes in government : 

• mCommunication : Improving communication between government and citizens (G2C, C2G : G2B)
• mServices : mTransactions and mPayments
• mDemocracy
• mAdministration : Improving Internal Public Sector Operations

E-government as a means to advance public service delivery and citizen empowerment has long been within the purview of past and current administration. Way before internet has found its dominance in almost every aspect of human activity, ICT was regarded as a powerful tool to fortify delivery of government services to the citizens. Philippine e-government may be traced back to the creation of the National Computer Center in 1971, primarily to automate government processes. Henceforth, every administration had taken initiatives that strengthened ICT use in the country.

Despite its significance, m-government cannot be regarded as a replacement for e-government. On the contrary, m-government in most cases compliments what e-government has established. It opens additional channels for G2G, G2C and G2B transactions. For the public sector, m-government provides better ways of fulfilling mandates and performing mission-critical services all for efficacy of public service delivery. Over the years, the country has shown significant progress in e-government implementation. According to the United Nations E-Government Survey 2016, the Philippines substantially advanced its ranking in the 2016 E-Government Development Index (eGDI) from 95th spot in 2014 to 71st spot.

The report was conducted using the foresight tool PESTE and STEEP analysis to assess the factors enabling m-government in a macro and micro environmental analysis. In order to satisfy the objectives of the project, a qualitative analysis was performed to come up with possible future scenarios and in providing recommendation. Key drivers and variables were identified and ranked according to the level of impact and uncertainty each one has on adopting an m-government for the Philippines. Scenario building was conducted to assess the implications of these factors to different scenarios.

Results of the analysis validated the initial premise that m-government can help realize the objective of the EGMP's transformative e-government.