Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS.
Second Regular Session

House Bit no, 8449

Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA S. TAMBUNTING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

With the new normal brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased emphasis
on reducing contact in transactions to minimize the transmission of disease. As such, LGUs need
to shape up and accelerate the adoption of ICT solutions which would also enable to LGUs to
better cope with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Presently, numerous LGUs have already
adopted the use ICT for workplace communication and information dissemination to the public.

This measure seeks to institutionalize the Informational and Communications Technology Officer
(ICTO) position across all local government units. This is proposed in an effort to promote the
adoption of information and communication technology to facilitate a more efficient processes
and in the workplace and to improve delivery of basic services and other transactions with the
public. Local ICTOs shall be responsible for the implementation of digital transformation within
their localities. This would involve the development of plan for the digitalization of government
transactions and processes, digitization and management of database and records of offices and
departments, and dissemination information regarding ICT solutions to the public.

On behalf of the people of Parafiaque City’s Second District, and for the common good of the
ino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought.

REP. JOY MYRA S. TAMBUNTING
2nd District, Parafiaque City


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House eit no, 844 9

Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA S, TAMBUNTING

AN ACT
‘STRENGTHENING THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CAPACITY OF ALL LOCAL
GOVERNMENT UNITS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7160
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991, AS AMENDED,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Local Information and
Communications Technology Officer Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared a policy of the State to develop, harness,
and integrate information and communication technology across all levels of local government
units in the country to ensure transparent, accountable, efficient and participatory governance.
Pursuant to this policy, the State shall provide for a local government position that will be
responsible and accountable for the implementation of digital transformation in the local
government units.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

a) Digitization — refers to the technical conversion of physical, analog originals to digital
copies by means of electronic devices;

Digitalization — refers to the adoption of digital technologies to upgrade business processes
and models in order to create better ways of providing service and obtaining greater
benefits;

Digital Transformation — refers to cultural, organizational and operational change of an
organization, industry or ecosystem through a smart integration of digital technologies,
processes and competencies across all levels and functions in a staged and strategic way;
Digital skills - refer to a range of skills, encompassing a combination of behaviors,
expertise, know-how, work habits, character traits, dispositions, and critical understanding
on the use of digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and
manage information;

b

d


e) Digital services — refer to public or private services that can be delivered through digital
communication, such as Internet, mobile phone network that might include delivery of
digital information, data or content or transactional services;

f) Digital technology ~ refers to any product or service that can be used to create, view,

distribute, modify, store, retrieve, transmit, and receive information electronically in a

digital form such as personal computers and devices like desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet

computer, smart phones, games consoles, media players, e-book readers, as well as
digital television, robots, personal assistant smart devices, and smart boards;

Digital tools — refer to technologies used for a given purpose or for carrying out a particular

function of information processing, communication, content creation, safety or problem

solving.

E-readiness (electronic readiness) ~ refers to a measure of the degree to which a country

is prepared to partake in electronic activities and, thus, benefit from ICT in education.

i) Innovation — refers to the creation of new ideas using new or existing technologies that
results in the development of new or improved products, processes, or services, which
are then spread or transferred across the market

9

hy

SEC. 4. Section 443 (a) of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government
Code of 1991, hereinafter referred to as the "Code", is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 443. Officials of the Municipal Government.

(a) There shall be in each municipality a municipal mayor, a municipal vice-mayor,
sangguniang bayan members, a secretary to the sangguniang bayan, a municipal
treasurer, a municipal assessor, a municipal accountant, a municipal budget officer,
a municipal planning and development coordinator, a municipal engineer/building
official, a municipal health officer and a municipal civil registrar[;]. A MUNICIPAL
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER (ICTO)
SHALL ALSO BE APPOINTED: PROVIDED, THAT THE MUNICIPALITY HAS
THE OPTION TO APPOINT AN ICTO OR MERGE SUCH POSITION TO AN
EXISTING POSITION OR OFFICIAL IN A RELATED OFFICE, UNIT OR
DEPARTMENT IN THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT: PROVIDED, FURTHER,
THAT IF THE MUNICIPALITY SHALL APPOINT AN ICTO, THE
MUNICIPALITY HAS THE OPTION TO SET THE RANK, REMUNERATION
AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS OF THE MUNICIPAL ICTO SUBJECT TO
EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS.

™(b) 200
“(c) 10x
“(d) 200c

“(e) 200c

SEC. 5. Section 454 (a) of the Code is hereby amended to read as follows:


"Sec. 454. Officials of the City Government.

(b) There shall be in each city a mayor, a vice-mayor, sangguniang panlungsod
members, a secretary to the sangguniang panlungsod, a city treasurer, a city
assessor, a city accountant, a city budget officer, a city planning and development
coordinator, a city engineer, a city health officer, a city civil registrar, a city
administrator, a city legal officer, a city veterinarian, a city social welfare and
development officer, and a city general services officer[,]. A CITY ICTO SHALL
ALSO BE APPOINTED: PROVIDED, THAT THE CITY HAS THE OPTION TO
APPOINT AN ICTO OR MERGE SUCH POSITION TO AN EXISTING
POSITION OR OFFICIAL IN A RELATED OFFICE, UNIT OR DEPARTMENT IN
‘THE CITY GOVERNMENT: PROVIDED, FURTHER, THAT IF THE CITY SHALL
APPOINT AN ICTO, THE CITY HAS THE OPTION TO SET THE RANK,
REMUNERATION AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS OF THE CITY ICTO SUBJECT
TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS.

"(b) XXX
"(c) XXX
"(d) XXX
"(e) XK
SEC. 6. Section 463 (a) of the Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
“Sec. 463. Officials of the Provincial Government

(©) There shall be in each province a governor, a vice-governor, members of the
sangguniang panlalawigan, a secretary to the sangguniang panlalawigan, a provincial
treasurer, a provincial assessor, a provincial accountant, a provincial engineer, a
provincial budget officer, a provincial planning and development coordinator, a
provincial legal officer, a provincial administrator, a provincial health officer, a provincial
social welfare and development officer, a provincial general services officer, a provincial
agriculturist, and a provincial veterinarian, [;], A PROVINCIAL ICTO SHALL ALSO
BE APPOINTED: PROVIDED, THAT THE PROVINCE HAS THE OPTION TO
APPOINT AN ICTO OR MERGE SUCH POSmON TO AN EXISTING POSITION OR
OFFICIAL IN A RELATED OFFICE, UNIT OR DEPARTMENT IN THE PROVINCIAL
GOVERNMENT: PROVIDED, FURTHER, THAT IF THE PROVINCE SHALL
APPOINT AN ICTO, THE PROVINCE HAS THE OPTION TO SET THE RANK,
REMUNERATION AND OTHER EMOLUMENTS OF THE PROVINCIAL ICTO
SUBJECT TO EXISTING LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS.

"(b) 200
"(c) 10

"(d) 200


"(e) 0K
‘SEC. 7. A new Section 491-A shall be inserted after Section 491 of the Code to read as follows:
ARTICLE XXI

THE LOCAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

SECTION 491-A. QUALIFICATIONS, POWERS, AND DUTIES. — (A) NO PERSON
SHALL BE APPOINTED AS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY OFFICER UNLESS HE OR SHE IS A CITIZEN OF THE PHIUPPINES,
ARESIDENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT CONCERNED, OF GOOD MORAL
‘CHARACTER, A HOLDER OF A COLLEGE DEGREE ON INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY, COMPUTER SCIENCE, COMPUTER
ENGINEERING, DATA SCIENCE, ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATIONS
ENGINEERING OR OTHER COURSES DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO ANY OF THE
AFOREMENTIONED COURSES FROM A RECOGNIZED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY,
AND A FIRST GRADE CML SERVICE ELIGIBLE OR ITS EQUIVALENT. HE OR SHE
MUST HAVE ACQUIRED EXPERIENCE IN INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND RELATED EXPERIENCES FOR AT LEAST
FIVE (5) YEARS IN THE CASE OF THE PROVINCE OR CITY, OR AT LEAST THREE
(3) YEARS IN THE CASE OF THE MUNICIPALITY.

THE APPOINTMENT OF AN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY OFFICER SHALL BE MANDATORY FOR THE PROVINCIAL, CITY
AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS.

(B) THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
‘SHALL:

(4) FORMULATE MEASURES FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE
SANGGUNIAN AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO
THE LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, IN CARRYING OUT MEASURES TO ENSURE
THE DIGITIZATION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, DIGITALIZATION OF
GOVERNMENT PROCESS AND OVER-ALL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF
GOVERNMENT

(2) DEVELOP PLANS AND STRATEGIES AND UPON APPROVAL THEREOF BY
THE LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE IMPLEMENT THE SAME, PARTICULARLY
THOSE WHICH HAVE TO DO WITH DEVELOPING, HARNESSING,
INTEGRATING AND UTILIZING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: OF GOVERNMENT
AND RELEVANT PURPOSES;

(3) IN ADDITION TO THE FOREGOING DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS, THE
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY OFFICER SHALL:

(i) TAKE CUSTODY OF AND BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL PROPERTIES,
REAL OR PERSONAL, OWNED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT AND


THOSE GRANTED TO IT IN THE FORM OF DONATION, REPARATION,
ASSISTANCE AND COUNTERPART OF JOINT PROJECTS;

(ii) WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ASSIGN
RESOURCES TO LOCAL OFFICIALS OR OTHER PUBLIC OFFICIALS, WHO
BY LAW, ARE ENTITLED TO SUCH SPACES;

(iij}RECOMMEND TO THE LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE REASONABLE
PURCHASE, LEASE OR RENTAL RATES OF DIGITAL EQUIPMENT FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION;

(iv) DEVELOP, MAINTAIN AND SUPERVISE ALL OTHER
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS AND
SERVICES OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT;

(v)COLLATE AND DISSEMINATE INFORMATION REGARDING
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS AND
SERVICES OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO THE PUBLIC,

(vi) PERFORM DATABASE AND RECORD MANAGEMENT WITH RESPECT
TO RECORDS OF OFFICES AND DEPARTMENTS OF THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT UNIT; AND

(vil) PERFORM ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS PERTAINING INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES OF
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ENFORCE POLICIES IN RELATION
THERETO;

(4) BE IN THE FRONTLINE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH PRIVATE SECTOR;

(5) DEVELOP, IMPLEMENT, AND EVALUATE ALL PROGRAMS AIMED AT
ENSURING THAT ALL PERSONNEL UNDER HIS OR HER SUPERVISION
INCLUDING HIMSELF OR HERSELF ARE CONSTANTLY TRAINED OR
EXPOSED TO KNOWLEDGE IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER RELEVANT AREAS;

(6) RECOMMEND TO THE SANGGUNIAN AND ADVISE THE LOCAL CHIEF
EXECUTIVE, ON ALL OTHER MATTERS RELATIVE TO INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY; AND

(C) EXERCISE SUCH OTHER POWERS AND PERFORM SUCH OTHER DUTIES AND
FUNCTIONS AS MAY BE PRESCRIBED BY LAW OR ORDINANCE."

SEC. 8, Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act shall be declared as
unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby
shall continue to be in full force and effect.


SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, rules and
regulations or parts thereof which are in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,