The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has announced a potential annual savings of up to P40 billion by streamlining government technology systems to eliminate redundancy.
During the eGovPH Hackathon 2026, DICT Undersecretary for e-Government David L. Almirol, Jr. highlighted that integrating services into the eGov app is a key factor in achieving these savings.
Transforming Government Services
We noticed that a lot of savings are happening because of e-governance and the platforms we are building.
David L. Almirol, Jr., Undersecretary for e-Government
The initiative revolves around the 'Once Only' policy, which discourages the development of overlapping digital systems across various agencies.
Almirol noted that a review of requests for the 2027 budget revealed duplications among P200 billion worth of ICT projects proposed by different agencies.
- Standardizing digital platforms
- Deploying technology in bulk
- Cloud decommissioning
To foster local innovation, the DICT plans to allocate about P100 million from the projected savings to support Filipino technology innovators.
Almirol emphasized the capability of local talent, stating, “Instead of engaging foreign entities that are very expensive, Filipinos are more than capable of doing it.” In its ongoing effort to enhance digital governance, the DICT is currently evaluating 137 technology startups to integrate additional services into the central eGov application.
The eGovPH app has already surpassed 800 million transactions, following over 56 million downloads, showcasing the growing reliance on digital government services.