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Thursday, February 23, 2006
Toral: Impact of the Internet
By Janette Toral
Digital Filipino
I got an interesting set of questions lately from a reader and would like to share my answers here.
What is the biggest impact of the Internet in the Philippines?
What first comes to mind is the way the Internet has brought people like you and me closer. It has made communication easier. Without it, I would not be able to reach out to as many people as I want.
How would you describe the state of e-commerce in the Philippines, considering that access to the Internet and computers is still very limited?
E-Commerce in the country is growing exponentially. But it is often underrated. We must note that all forms of electronic transactions such as, automated teller machine, texting, and Internet purchases are considered e-commerce. However, we need innovative programs to make the system affordable or easier to invest in by small enterprises.
How has the E-commerce law affected government transactions such as, procurements, which is one area that’s very controversial?
In the government, you’ll find that half of Bureau of Internal Revenue’s collections for the past two years were done through e-commerce. The same is true with the Bureau of Customs. Without e-commerce, the revenues of these agencies would not have increased consistently. The gains would have been higher, though, if the system is made more efficient.
For the procurement system, until bidding can be done through e-commerce, we can’t say that we’ve achieved a lot in this area. Savings in newspaper advertisement is a very small area where the impact of electronic procurement can be measured. This is especially so knowing the fact that the government spends P2 million per month to sustain such system, even if there are options that can be offered by the private sector.
But we can expect a lot of government guidelines to be released this year by various government agencies to make e-commerce beneficial to as many people as possible. This includes consumer protection on various e-commerce services; the government’s acceptance of electronic payment; data log retention; and e-commerce financial services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), among others.
These guidelines will determine the direction of e-commerce in the country and make it easy for investors to transact with the government. The guidelines will also institutionalize a cybercrime program to run after and prosecute those who abuse these facilities.
What are the prospects of ordinary Filipinos gaining greater access to the Internet?
I think a lot of Filipinos are now using the Internet without them knowing it. For instance, most long distance phone calls today are done through voice over Internet protocol (VOIP). The same goes for various text messaging services, which are mostly accessed through the Internet especially when joining text-based games.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 23, 2006 issue)
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