By Cyrus A. Natividad
Mayor Mary Jean Te, with her team at the Digital Governance Awards 2023.
On March 30, 2023, Centralian Mayor Mary Jean Te received the Digital Governance Award at the National Museum of Natural History; proving her leadership and excellence in digital governance by winning for the third time, a prestigious award 2023 for the Municipality of Libertad, Antique.
Libertad won 2nd second place during its first year of participation, and dominated the competition for the past two years with back-to-back first-place wins. This gave the municipality and its leaders the reputation as a pioneer in digital transformation and governance, “highlighting their commitment to deliver excellent public service through innovative and efficient solutions.”
Mayor Mary Jean N. Te was with Information Officer II Mr. Jay Tumbokon, and Municipal Assessor EnP. Arnel D. Villaruel in personally receiving the award. The other awards received previously include eWaterworks for the Municipal Economic Enterprise Development Office (MEEDO) in the Government to Business Category (G2B) in 2021, and Project iComSys for Municipal Planning and Development Office (MPDO), which won second place in the 2020 Digital Governance Awards (G2G).
Te confirmed “The eAmilyar Software developed for the office of the Assessor and Treasurer indeed helped ease the operation in managing real property tax declaration, reports, payment collections, monitoring and other data processing. The system generates reports and notices instantly, making it easier and more convenient for taxpayers to comply with their obligations.”
She added that “Since its deployment last year, the system has resulted in a remarkable 96.32% increase in yearly tax collection, demonstrating the effectiveness of the eAmilyar system.” The success of the eAmilyar system is attributed to the collaboration of the Municipal Assessor EnP. Arnel Villaruel, System programmer Mr. Jay Tumbokon and Mayor Te. “The team of Mayor Te has worked tirelessly to come up with a system that would improve the overall efficiency of the local government.
Prior to the awarding ceremony, Mayor Mary Jean N. Te served as one of the resource speakers. She shared Libertad’s digital journey in e-governance, together with the local governments of Tuburan, Cebu, Province of Laguna, and Davao De Oro.
“The awards are testament to our commitment – to provide excellent public service through digital innovation. This achievement in digital governance has earned us the recognition from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP). Libertad’s digital innovations have been transforming local governance and the delivery of necessary services in the municipality, Te said.
Mayor Mary Jean Te is a graduate of AB Political Science (Batch ’85) of Central Philippine University.