PH eyeing digital infrastructure pact

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez is proposing a partnership among the Philippines, the United States of America, and India in building a digital public infrastructure in the country.

He attended the Digital Public Infrastructure lecture on Saturday at the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington D.C. where he had a brief chat with Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders of Indian multinational information technology company Infosys.

“I think it is very important for the Philippines, India, and the US to lead in this digital public infrastructure initiative because nations have much to gain from this,” he said.

The event was part of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings.

Romualdez said to build public digital platforms “is very much aligned with the campaign promise of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to speed up the country’s digital transformation.”

“This is the reason why the House of Representatives has passed the EGovernance/E-Government Bill, which seeks to shift the entire bureaucracy to the digital space for faster and transparent delivery of services, and for better engagement with the public,” he said.

“Digitalization will definitely prove to be the panacea to the economic problems left behind by COVID-19,” he added.

Digital public infrastructure is defined as infrastructure that allows people to engage in public and civic life in digital space. It is funded mostly by the government and taxpayers. It is not profit-oriented, unlike privately owned digital platforms that rake in billions mostly from advertising.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Felipe Medalla, and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attended the World Bank-International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, and generated positive and encouraging remarks from businessmen, WB, IMF and bank officials on the country’s strong economy.