MANILA — Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. urged government offices to adopt and recognize digital documents as part of efforts to streamline public services through digitalization.

In his latest vlog, Marcos said agencies should fully incorporate digital services into their workflows to make government transactions quicker and more convenient for citizens.

The President issued the call following the launch of the e-Certificate service by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which enables the public to request digital copies of birth, marriage and other civil registry documents online.

“Ang mahalagang bahagi rin dito ay dapat i-recognize o dapat tanggapin ang mga digital document ng lahat ng opisina sa ating bansa. Dapat itong kilalanin ng bawat government office upang maging kapaki-pakinabang ito (An important part of this is that digital documents should be recognized or accepted by all offices in our country. Every government office must recognize it so that it can be useful),” he said.

Marcos said the government’s push for digitalization aims to reduce long lines and bureaucratic obstacles faced by citizens when securing basic documents.

He also emphasized the need to integrate services offered under the government’s eGov PH into the operations of all agencies.

“Kung tutuusin, marami na tayong serbisyong sa eGov na kailangan lang fully ma-integrate sa workflow ng iba’t ibang opisina (In fact, we already have many eGov services that just need to be fully integrated into the workflow of various offices). We need to be open in integrating so our digitization program can succeed,” he said.

At the same time, Marcos said some procedures may still require in-person appearance to prevent fraud, citing the case of Alice Guo who was jailed over alleged involvement in illegal gambling and other criminal activities, as well as questions surrounding her citizenship.

“But having said that, kailangan natin intindihin na ang physical appearance sa ibang proseso ay hindi natin maisawalang-bahala para hindi tayo malusutan ng (But having said that, we need to understand that physical appearance in other processes cannot be ignored so that we do not fall victim to) fraudulent birth registration,” he said.

The President also acknowledged public suggestions to simplify document correction procedures and improve access to identification cards for marginalized groups.

Marcos said the government continues to expand digital services under the eGov program while the PSA and other agencies work to streamline the issuance of civil registry documents and national identification cards.