PH improving in ICT development for public service

A United Nations (UN) survey showed the Philippines improving in terms of maximizing information and communications technologies to deliver service to the public.

Based on the 2016 UN E-Government Survey, the country climbed 24 notches to rank 71st out of 193 countries in “e-government development.” The UN refers to e-government as the “use and application of information technologies in public administration” for data management and streamlining, enhancement of delivery of public service and expansion of communication channels.

The country obtained a “high” score in the E-Government Development Index (EDGI), with a total of 0.58 out of a perfect score of 1, beating other Asian neighbors such as  Thailand (77th) and Vietnam (89th). The global average is at 0.5.

Of the three components of the EDGI, the Philippines got high scores in inherent human capital (0.68) and scope and quality of online services (0.67).

The survey, however, gave the Philippines a score of 0.38 in terms of the development of its telecommunications infrastructure. This was a slight improvement from the 0.24 the country achieved in the last survey in 2014, where it ranked 95 overall.

The majority of countries that scored “very high” in the index were from Europe, led by the United Kingdom which took the top spot worldwide. In Asia, the top e-government performers were the Republic of Korea and Singapore, ranking third and fourth, respectively.

The United Nations sees e-government as an effective tool for public service since it promotes accountability and transparency.