Residents of Zamboanga City can expect to have faster and more efficient public services with the launch of the Philippine Government Network (GovNet) on Thursday, June 11, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said.
The project covers 88 nodes and clients in Zamboanga City comprising of 56 national government agencies (NGAs), 12 local government unit (LGU) offices, six government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs), three state universities and colleges (SUCs), two public schools, four Covid-19 facilities, among others.
“With GovNet, the delivery of services is expected to become faster and more efficient as government agencies become interconnected, their functions integrated, and their operations interoperable,” DICT secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II said.
GovNet uses fiber optic technology to provide government offices with high speed broadband connection by connecting government agencies to a data center that is operational and secured 24/7.
It is equipped with the necessary network machines, cooling, power, fire protection, and monitoring systems. The use of fiber optics also allows transfer of large amounts of data or information, owing to more responsive and transparent government online services.
The GovNet project aims to provide the necessary infrastructure and ICT equipment needed to support the DICT’s agenda of a recalibrated digital government for the “new normal”. The project implements the objectives laid out in the eGovernment Master Plan 2.0 (EGMP 2.0) through the execution of basic infrastructure and shared services.
The project is attributed to the efforts of director Maria Teresa Camba as well as the DICT personnel from the Field Operations Office in Mindanao Cluster 1, who spearheaded the project in spite of the limitations and challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation.
“GovNet shall enjoin our efforts towards a unified front with cheaper and faster government transactions so we can efficiently address the most immediate needs of our citizens in support of the Inter-Agency Task Force’s initiatives to curtail and eliminate the Covid-19 threat,” Honasan stated.
