Speaker Martin Romualdez has pushed for a digital public infrastructure partnership composed of the Philippines, the United States and India.

Romualdez made the proposal after attending the Digital Public Infrastructure lecture on Saturday (PH time) at the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, D.C.

He also had a brief chat with Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders of the Indian multinational information technology company Infosys.

“I think it is very important for the Philippines, India, and the US to lead in this digital public infrastructure initiative because nations have much to gain from this,” he said.

He said building public digital infrastructure is the main reason why the House of Representatives passed House Bill 7327 or the E-Governance/E-Government Bill on March 6.

The measure seeks to shift the entire bureaucracy to the digital space for faster and transparent delivery of services, and for better engagement with the public.

“Building public digital platforms is very much aligned with the campaign promise of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to speed up the country’s digital transformation,” he said.

“Digitalization will definitely prove to be the panacea to the economic problems left behind by Covid-19,” he added.

Digital public infrastructure allows engagement in public and civic life in digital space. (PNA)