Philippines Proposes Partnership With US, India for Building Digital Public Infrastructure

Philippines Proposes Partnership With US, India for Digital Public Infrastructure Development

Philippines Parliament Speaker Ferdinand Martin G Romualdez, on Saturday, has proposed a partnership among the Philippines, the United States (US), and India in building a digital public infrastructure in the country, according to the Phillippines House of Representatives press release.

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Speaker Ferdinand Martin G Romualdez made this proposal after attending the Digital Public Infrastructure lecture at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington DC. The event was part of the World Bank (WB)-IMF Spring Meetings.

“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,” Romualdez said.

Philippines’ digital transformation

Romualdez believes that digital public infrastructure can accelerate the Philippines’ digital transformation and could provide a panacea to the economic problems caused by COVID-19.

“This is the reason why the House of Representatives has passed the E-Governance/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.

Public digital platforms are not profit-oriented, unlike privately owned digital platforms that rake in billions mostly from advertising.

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According to the statement, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla, and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attended the World Bank-International Monetary Fund (WB-IMF) Spring Meetings in Washington DC. The four members of President Marcos’ economic team briefed IMF and World Bank officials and potential American investors on the state of the country’s economy.

In his remarks before prospective investors and IMF and WB officials, Diokno said that the 2022-2028 Medium Term Fiscal Framework serves as a compass to steer the economy closely along the patch of fiscal sustainability and economic growth.