Marcos touts PH's digitalization, cybersecurity efforts at WEF 2023

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday (Wednesday, PH time) touted his government's digitalization initiative to make bureaucracy more efficient in the country, as well as efforts to shield it from cyberattacks.

Speaking in an open forum at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, Marcos said security "has become a huge issue… that's what we are trying to design now, a cybersecurity system for this sensitive information."

Noting that internet connectivity in the country "is still pretty slow," Marcos said the government needs to do better in terms of connecting millions of Filipinos and revving up initiatives to advance the digital economy.

"The connectivity in the Philippines is still pretty low. And it’s unfortunate because some of the studies we’ve made, the general consumer, if you want to call them that, talks to every facet of their lives through the internet, except for government," he said.

Because of this, Marcos said local governments and concerned government agencies have stepped in to ensure internet connectivity infrastructures are in place to reach Filipinos in the regions.

"And that's where we are right now: forming the databases for government, forming the databases that can be used by the national ID, [and] establishing it now," Marcos said.

He added that the Philippines welcomes any assistance in helping the government boost its digitalization initiatives.

Before departing for Switzerland to attend WEF 2023, Marcos ordered to speed up the digitalization of the National Identification (ID) system that could be used for public and private transactions.

Under the Marcos administration, the government has activated thousands of previously offline areas under the Broadband ng Masa (BBM) and Free Wi-Fi for All programs of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. —KBK, GMA Integrated News