The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), in coordination with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and other key agencies, said it will soon release an order reforming the Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) process to improve public service delivery.
“As mandated by the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Services Delivery Act, again, we will lead by example and by leading by example, we are going to open the gate for the ISSPs,” DICT secretary Henry R. Aguda said during the recent Workshop on Process Streamlining for Renewable Energy and Digital Infrastructure.
“We’ve done the MITHI Technical Working Group with ARTA, with DBM, with DICT, and other agencies. We will come up with a Department Circular sometime by the end of this month, where all ISSPs of all government agencies can proceed to budgeting without DICT taking it anymore,” he added.
Through the upcoming issuance, government agencies will soon be able to move directly to budgeting their ISSPs without requiring prior DICT clearance – provided they adhere to established guidelines and standards.
The ISSP is a medium-term (three- to five-year) roadmap that outlines how agencies intend to use information and communications technology to support their operations, improve public service delivery, and achieve their vision, mission, and goals.
Historically, the ISSP process was guided by the Medium-Term ICT Harmonization Initiative (MITHI), a government-wide program launched through Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2012-01 by the DBM, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the former ICT Office, the predecessor agency of the DICT.
MITHI provided a framework to align ICT projects with national goals and ensure strategic coherence across the public sector.
In 2021, the issuance of Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2021-01 formally concluded MITHI’s operations but it was officially revived through Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2024-01. This revival reconstituted the MITHI Steering Committee and reaffirmed its role in guiding harmonized ICT investments across government.
The reform in the ISSP process comes at a pivotal time as the current administration is preparing to make its largest-ever investment in technology.
“The government’s going to spend the biggest amount of money on technology this year, by far, compared to previous years,” Aguda noted. “We only have eight months to go [before the end of the year] — we need the processes to be efficient and effective.”
