E-Governance in Davao Region: An Assessment of City Government Websites

Abstract

The study evaluated the resources and services available in the official government websites of all the cities in Davao Region to determine the extent of its implementation of e-governance. In particular, the assessment was done to verify if the following contents were promoted in their websites: (a) citizen awareness and understanding of their community’s characteristics; (b) efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery; (c) transparency and accountability in operations and services; (d) awareness of policy making process and participation in decision making; (e) linkage and interaction between government and citizens and other groups; and (f) linkage between government and business. Moreover, the compliance of the city websites in posting the reports required by the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP) was also determined. Results were initially obtained through an assessment done by the researcher using the checklist adapted from the study of Siar (2007). Preliminary findings were triangulated and substantiated from the Focus Group Discussion (FDG) with thirty (30) information technology participants who scrutinized the available contents in each of the website using the same checklist. Frequency counts, means and percentages were utilized from the derived significant discussions. Findings showed that relatively low results were acquired by the city websites in Davao Region except for Davao and Tagum where most of the contents were promoted in the site. Moreover, the websites of both cities have advanced features and services which were not included in the checklist. As to the FDP compliance, findings revealed that except for Digos, all cities utilized their website to post the reports required under the FDP. The study concludes that while all cities have utilized their websites for e-governance, the quality of its contents show substandard adoption and underutilization. The study suggests that each city exploit the benefits offered by the websites as a medium in promoting innovative public service delivery.