Kalinga BM kitongan pushes for codification and digitization of provincial ordinances

Tabuk City, Kalinga - The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Kalinga may soon have a codified digital ordinances and policies if the ordinance pushing it is enacted in the province, which in turn contributes to promoting transparency and accountability, and strengthening efficiency in governance.

The proposed ordinance introduced by Board Member Emilio Kitongan seeks to institutionalize a systematic approach to compiling, classifying, and digitizing provincial ordinances and policies into ‘coherent and updated code.’ 

Under the proposed ordinance, which is titled “Kalinga Provincial Ordinances and Policies Codification and Digitization Ordinance”, all Kalinga provincial ordinances will be transformed into secure electronic formats for easier storage, retrieval, and dissemination. 

The draft of the ordinance shared by Kitongan to Guru Press Cordillera indicates that a Codification and Digitization Committee (CDC) will be established once the proposed ordinance is enacted to supervise the procedure.

The committee will be composed of representatives from the Provincial Planning and Development Office, from the Provincial Information Office, from the Provincial Information Technology Office, and from civil society organizations or academia with expertise in law to be appointed by the Governor, and the Vice-Governor as chairperson and the provincial legal officer as vice-chairperson.

The legislative body, headed by Vice-Governor Dave Odiem, approved the ordinance to proceed to its second reading during their session last week.

In an interview, Kitongan explained that this step is also meant to protect historical and legal documents from deterioration or loss while aligning the province with national policies concerning digital transformation and open government, as outlined by the Data Privacy Act of 2002 and the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000.

“Tapno ngay nu biruken tayo ket dagiti enacted ordinances ket nalaka tayo lang makita kasi i-access tayo lang through website kasjay koma,” Kitongan added.