Senatorial candidate Herbert “Bistek” Bautista pushed for more digital transactions in government offices, which he said could help curb corruption.
“We want to remove corruption so we should strengthen our internet connections so that our government services will go online,” said Bautista, whose platform is Internet reform, Livelihood for all and Youth development, or ILY.
“We won’t need to go and pay at the city hall or the municipal building. No need to go there anymore,” he added.
The three-term mayor of Quezon City, the country’s biggest city in terms of land area, said receipts of payments can be sent online, too, via email or messaging apps or even through SMS.
He said another option for government payments was to make these transactions through Bayad Centers or in banks.
“These are good things that can reduce corruption,” said Bautista, who is running for senator under the slate of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Bautista noted that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC), agencies that were seen as prone to corruption, have started to shift to digital transactions.
“I would like to congratulate these revenue agencies for seeing the wisdom of non-contact transactions,” he said.
“But more push is needed to make it easier for these agencies’ clients to go online,” Bautista added.