The Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has asked Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to issue an executive order that will promote telecommuting and other ICT-based solutions to ease the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila.
Telecommuting is a work arrangement wherein employees do not commute or travel by bus or car to their workplaces such as an office building, warehouse or store.
Teleworkers often use mobile telecommunications technology such as WiFi-equipped laptop or tablet computers and smartphones to work from coffee shops. Others use a desktop computer with a broadband connection at their home.
At a recent ICT summit aimed at finding solutions to mitigate traffic congestion nationwide, the DICT said it has already drafted a resolution which can serve as the basis for an EO.
The document was formulated with representatives from various government agencies, including the Senate and the House of Representatives, League of Governors and Mayors, local government unit (LGU) officials in the National Capital Region (NCR), ICT experts, and industry stakeholders.
?Through the use of ICT-based solutions such as the use of telecommuting as a work arrangement and the use of ICT solutions such as cloud computing, remote access systems, productivity, communications and collaboration tools, enterprise resource planning tools, ICT-based traffic management tools and adoption of broadband connectivity, the public and private sector can help mitigate the traffic problem and channel the P2.4-billion losses into savings, investment and even income,? the resolution stated.
The resolution called on the public sector to formulate tax-based and other fiscal incentives that could entice business entities to participate in implementing the ICT-based solutions.
The resolution also aims to reward service providers, technology providers, and application developers who will create ICT-based solutions specific for traffic and congestion problems.
At the same time, the proposal is also pushing for the digitization of government databases, assets, and real-time traffic data to allow remote access which could facilitate ICT-based solutions.
It also seeks to review and amend policies that would make government services easier and more convenient to the private sector by making them available online.
On the part of the private sector, the resolution recommends that it should assist the government in developing and providing ICT solutions and infrastructures necessary for its implementation.
Those who attended the summit strongly urged Duterte to formally adopt the recommendation and issue an EO correspondingly.
?The EO is an appropriate tool for mandating the executive branch of government and imparting weight and permanence on telecommuting and the use of ICT-based solutions as a policy,? they said. — PNA
