SP goes digital, cuts down paper use

The Less Paper Session system, which passed its third and final council hearing just last week, will speed up the crafting of local policies while simultaneously reducing the amount of paper used in regular sessions, according to Information Technology Committee Chair and principal author of the Less Paper System Ordinance Councilor Bonz Andrei Militar,.

Militar said the ordinance is in line with the local government’s thrust towards digitalization and automation of transactions to deliver services faster and more convenient for the public.

The policy dictates the digitalization of all agenda, committee reports, file attachments and other documents to be used during a council session. These will be distributed to lawmakers through electronic means, thereby limiting the production of printed documents to three copies which will be kept by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) Office of the Secretary.

Aside from streamlining legislative processes, Militar said the ordinance will also introduce a more sustainable procedure than the traditional method by drastically reducing the amount of paper used per session.

“Ang city council man gud sa una, nag-rely pa sa traditional style sa pagdumala dinha sa SP na more on paper. Every session, naga-produce ang atong Sanggunian og almost 70 reams of paper, pag-approve ani ma-lessen na lang ni siya to less than five reams,” the councilor said in an interview with the City Information Office on Wednesday.

To fully implement the system, the SP’s Legislative Information Support System (LISS) will be given additional features such as cloud storage, next generation firewall, and other necessary hardware and software systems.

The lawmaker assured the public that certain measures will be taken to ensure against data breach.

As the public may also access the cloud storage of the LISS where they can inspect session reports, Militar said the ordinance also inadvertently promotes transparency in council session proceedings.

The full implementation of the policy is expected early next year after the procurement of all necessary devices and computer systems. CIO