PBBM promise realized with over 200K eGovPH-Caraga users in 1st quarter
By Renelle L. Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY (PIA)—The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Caraga, at full tilt, responded to the order of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his 2nd State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24, 2023 with the major statistical milestone of the eGovPH App in the Caraga region.
Regional Director Mario P. Cuñado recently announced and shared that eGovPH users in the region reached 202, 216 for the first quarter of this year.
“This achievement is a tangible fulfillment of PBBM’s SONA promise to the Filipino people to strengthen digital public service,” the director said.
“The enthusiastic adoption of eGovPH in Caraga reflects the region’s growing commitment to digital transformation and smarter governance. Thank you 202,2016 users for being part of the #DigitalBayanihan in Caraga,” Cuñado added. “This is a significant step forward in our journey toward a more connected, transparent and citizen-centered government.”
He also shared the strategic campaigns that the agency made to promote the mobile app in the region, introducing eGovPH to different engagements among government offices and local government units, in schools and campuses, during Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair, among others.
Most recent was the orientation of eGovPH to the information officers in Caraga during the Regional Information Officers Conference spearheaded by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga in Butuan City on July 2.
Marku Paul Serrano, project officer I of DICT Caraga shared the eGovPH’s transformative impact in public service delivery. “eGovPH is the country’s first mobile one-stop shop, offering streamlined, convenient and efficient access to a wide range of national and local government services, all in one platform.”
He said, “Aside from its mobile functionality, the application is also accessible via the web, providing the users with greater flexibility in managing government transactions anytime, anywhere.”
To further assist the information officers, a technical assistance booth was also set up during the event. It catered general and account-related inquiries regarding the eGovPH, making it a convenient one-stop support center for the government communicators in attendance.
The participants, after knowing its significance, downloaded the mobile application with DICT Caraga’s eGovPH team assisting them with a navigation tutorial. The information officers also committed to help promote eGovPH in their respective workplaces and to their loved ones so more Caraganons will download and utilize the platform.
Aminah Sultan Unba, information officer of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Northeastern Mindanao, considered eGovPH revolutionary in bridging the digital divide. “If we deep dive, eGovPH is a big help to the Caraganons, especially that we have islands and far-flung areas in the region. People in these areas do not have to cross the sea and travel far by land to transact essential government services because almost everything is within our fingertips with eGovPH,” she said, at the same time showing the successful download of the mobile app in her phone after learning the benefits eGovPH.
The eGovPH, from its inception on June 2, 2023, has gone a long way as it continues to expand its pioneer services from digital National ID, e-tourism and e-travel, vaccination eCertificate to digital driver’s license; membership details and contributions to PhilHealth, SSS, GSIS and Pag-IBIG; application of eVisa to pilot countries; COMELEC’s precinct finder; fire safety with eReport piloting in Manila areas; health center locator; eJobs; LTO’s plate number tracker, among others.
On July 18, during the launching of the eGovPH Serbisyo Hub in San Juan City, PBBM acknowledged the pivotal role of eGovPH mobile app in making public services more accessible and convenient to all Filipinos. He called on the remaining government agencies and all local government units in the country to build in and integrate their systems to eGovPH, certifying it as a super app.
With these outstanding enhancements, eGovPH gained global recognition in the 2025 GovMedia Asia-Pacific Awards as eGovernance Project of the Year, strengthening its digital integrity and motivating more Filipinos to patronize DICT’s game changer. (RLE, PIA Caraga with a report from DICT Caraga)