MANILA, Philippines – In a move that’s shaking local government units (LGUs) like a surprise audit, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) is bringing down the hammer, filing formal charges against 117 LGUs for ghosting their digital transformation homework.
That’s right, these local units allegedly flaked on setting up their electronic Business One-Stop Shops (eBOSS) —and now they’re facing the consequences.
“I want to emphasize that I didn’t want to file cases against our colleagues in the government. But to ensure that we follow the law and to set an example, we have no other alternative but to sue them,” Arta Secretary Ernesto Perez said in an interview.
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The Arta chief said the complaints were filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on May 9 after 117 LGUs had snubbed Arta’s “notice to explain.”
Let’s be clear: this isn’t just some bureaucratic nitpicking. The creation of eBOSS mandated under Republic Act No. 11032, aka the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
The law requires LGUs to build a seamless online system to process business permits and payments.
But out of 1,483 LGUs, only 113 have fully complied, with Perez hoping to raise that number to 200 by the end of the year, assuming no one else gets added to the naughty list.
And ARTA’s not stopping there as it’s set to launch a new reform guidebook on May 22, aimed at showing both public and private sectors how to stop making things so complicated for businesses.
Bottom line: If you’re running an LGU and still stuck in 1995 with paper forms and endless queues, you might want to shape up. Or else, you could be next in line for a legal wake-up call.
Because in 2025, if you’re not online, you’re out of line. —Alden M. Monzon
Who buys Starlink dishes?
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. opened a new revenue stream as an authorized reseller of tech tycoon Elon Musk’s Starlink, a satellite connectivity services provider that has become an alternative for those in remote areas.
And it looks like this venture is boding well for the fiber service provider. “We have a few hundreds already in the market,” Converge CEO and co-founder Dennis Uy said in a virtual briefing on Thursday.
Uy said they are selling this product to enterprise clients, including resorts on islands where traditional internet infrastructure is lacking. He added that some mining companies already bought satellite dishes.
Apart from these, Converge chief commercial officer Benjamin Azada said some customers want satellite connectivity for redundancy.
“While we provide fiber connectivity, sometimes, due to weather, the fiber cable might get cut,” Azada said. “It is good to have the back-up connectivity.”
Other customers for this product are in retail and tourism, he added.
According to the Starlink website, subscription for enterprise customers starts at P1,950 per month. A satellite dish costs about P40,000.
Starlink provides internet speed of up to 200 Mbps (megabit per second), which can support high-definition video conferencing, real-time financial transactions, cloud computing and remote-controlled industrial operations. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
Of ports and online gambling
Billionaire buddies Eusebio Tanco and Enrique Razon Jr. have at least two interests in common: ports and gambling.
Tanco helms Asian Terminals Inc., which operates some of the busiest local seaports. Razon is busy with International Container Terminal Services Inc., which has presence in six continents.
Tanco also runs DigiPlus Interactive Corp., operator of the 24/7 online bingo streaming platform BingoPlus and other digital games. The company has amassed at least 40 million registered users so far.
Razon, chair of Solaire Resorts and Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp., is soon entering the online gambling arena. And this is something that his buddy Tanco welcomes.
“I’m glad that Ricky is going online. We’re good friends,” said Tanco, who has full confidence in Razon.
“He (Razon) knows what to do,” he added. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ