By Nanette L. Guadacquiver
BACOLOD CITY, Sept. 15 (PNA) — The country’s best local government projects using information and communications technology (ICT) to effectively deliver public service will be recognized during the 2nd eGOV Awards for Local Government Units (LGUs) on Nov. 29, 2013 at the Bohol Tropics Resort Hotel in Tagbilaran City.
The project, spearheaded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP), is also known as the “Jesse Robredo Award of Excellence in ICT for Good Governance” in honor of the late DILG secretary who approved the concept before he died in August 2012.
Bacolod City Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, chair of eGOV Awards 2013, said Sunday the yearly recognition seeks to commend and collate the best practices of LGUs in integrating ICT in their processes to serve as example and benchmarks to other LGUs.
Batapa-Sigue, founding head of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for ICT (BNEFIT), is a former NICP president.
The eGov Awards is the first and most prestigious recognition to be given by the ICT sector to LGUs with exemplary performance in empowering its public customers and business in two categories namely, Best in eGov Customer Empowerment (G2C) Award and Best in eGov Business Empowerment (G2B) Award.
Nominations will be accepted until Oct. 15, 2013. Forms are available at nicp.org.ph.
Wit Holganza of Davao ICT, president of NICP, said the eGOV Awards has tremendous potentials in furthering innovation within the LGU ecosystems to increase efficiency and transparency.
“We see this program as an avenue for increased public-private sector partnerships in ICT,” he added.
More than 60 local government units are expected to be represented during the awarding rites in November.
Formed in 2008, NICP serves as the recognized advocate for countryside development through ICT, and aims to attract investments and generate jobs, share information and best practices, and help transform the Philippines into competitive global provider for ICT services and products.(PNA)
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