Canadian experts assist local government IT project

By Lawrence Casiraya - INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- The Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO), a non-governmental organization, is helping local parties deploy a business permits and licensing software designed for municipalities.

The system is funded by a P420-million government grant from the Canadian International Development to the National Computer Center (NCC), coursed through the Commission on ICT.

The partnership, which likewise includes the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, will be formally signed on Monday.

Robert Sagun, project officer for the CESO initiative, said the project aims to streamline and harmonize the business permit and licensing systems in more than 40 selected municipalities in Luzon.

"Canadian IT experts will help deploy the system in as many municipalities as possible," he said via phone interview.

The software was developed by the Development Academy of the Philippines and is valued at P3.2 million, Sagun added.

The NCC is currently undertaking a massive project called e-LGU that rolls out software applications specifically for local government use.

The project has already piloted a system that manages real property taxes.