Sunday, March 23, 2008 Argao shares tips on e-governance
ARGAO prides itself of being the first towen in Cebu to provide a wireless fidelity (wifi) zone in its town plaza.
It is also first in the country to implement programs under the National Computer Center (NCC) electronic governance project.
The NCC introduced the eLGU project, or the electronic governance for local government units (LGUs), years ago.
And Argao successfully implemented the Electronic Real Property Tax System (eRPTS) and the Electronic Business Permits and Licensing System (eBPLS), which the NCC features in its website.
The third eLGU system is the Electronic Treasury Operations and Management System called the eTOMS, which completes what the NCC terms as the “triumvirate of revenue-generating systems.”
Querubin Momongan, Argao’s information technology consultant, had told Sun.Star Cebu that the main objective of the programs was to decentralize treasury operations.
“Taxpayers first.... It was mainly to minimize queuing,” he said.
And Argawanons are paying it forward.
Neighboring towns
Momongan said they are sharing the knowledge, particularly in the eRPTS, to neighboring municipalities.
Alcoy and Boljoon towns were invited last February to a “transfer of information” workshop on eRPTS.
Momongan said that once Alcoy and Boljoon learn, they should teach the system to other towns as well.
Boljoon, she said, already has the municipalities of Oslob and Santander in mind.
The scheme is expected to fasttrack eRPTS implementation in all 15 second district towns.
As early as 2004, Provincial Board (PB) Member Wilfredo Caminero, the town mayor then, issued an executive order to automate taxation process for real property.
The NCC 7 trained the personnel from the town Assessor’s and the Treasurer’s offices.
Full implementation took place last year, with Municipal Mayor Edsel Galeos at the helm.
What the town did first was to set 1986 as starting point for tax delinquency computation, with the last tax amnesty granted in 1985.
Galeos set the objectives, which include the reduction of tax processing costs, the increase of revenues, and efficient service to taxpayers.
Success
The system proved a success, with the Treasurer’s Office collecting 75 percent more in real property taxes.
The NCC also noted that printing costs for receipts were reduced since automated receipts is just P1.00 each compared to P3.00 for each National Printing Office-printed receipts.
“The total experience of Argao can best be summarized in the political will of the chief executive, the resources to match, an able team leader with a deeper business knowledge of the Assessor and Treasurer processes and coupled with good technical skills,” the NCC said in commending the town.
“And a good communication line with the end users to eliminate resistance in the implementation and use of the system application,” it said.
Momongan said Argao’s 11 coastal barangays were provided with broadband lines for the system.
The town also purchased four wireless routers to make the town square a wifi hotspot, where Argawanons and foreign and local tourists can just bring their laptops to enjoy free Internet access. (JGA)
