Electronic commerce for government agencies

I think that so far, It is only the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that is successfully operating a purely online electronic commerce platform in the Philippines to "sell" a physical product in the form of paper documents. Right now, anyone can order birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and certificates of no marriage records (CENOMAR) from the PSA, without the need for a personal appearance. Perhaps wanting to provide the next best thing, DFA, PNP and LTO are offering online applications, but they would still require personal appearances. Apparently, some Local Government Units (LGUs) are offering the purely online issuance of products in the form of paper documents, but it is difficult to find out which of them are doing so, and there appears to be no national standards that govern the conduct of these processes. Ideally, any citizen of any LGU should be able to "order" a physical product that could come in paper form, usually in the form of a document. For example, these could be business permits, health certificates and police clearances.

When PBBM issued the instructions to "digitalize" the government, I think what he meant was to make government services available online, meaning over the internet, and not over the local area networks (LANs) of the national government agencies (NGAs) and LGUs. I think what he meant was to transfer all government transactions online, and make them "digital", without any more need for manual transactions, meaning also that there will be no more need for face-to-face transactions or physical appearances. For all intents and purposes, facial recognition, voice recognition and corneal recognition technologies could already take the place of physical appearances. And if is not too much to ask, those NGAs and LGUs that are still skeptical could even require gait recognition.

But even without using advanced biometric and algorithmic solutions, those who are still doubting could ask multiple security questions and several means of multifactor authentication. "Ease of doing business" is a law that we should not ignore. Whether we see the direct correlation between the law and the use of digital technologies, the end goal is the same, and that is to make it easier for our citizens to do business with our NGAs and LGUs. Believe it or not, electronic commerce could not only save money for our citizens, it could also save them the efforts of commuting just to make the unnecessary personal appearances.

 

 Hold departure orders

According to the law, only a judge could issue a "hold departure order" (HDO), but first, a case must be filed in court, before an HDO could be issued. What that means is that not even the Senate could issue an HDO, even if it has the power to issue a warrant of arrest. That said, who is to blame for the alleged departure of Alice Gou from the Philippines? If in reality, the Senate has issued a warrant, then it could not be blamed. Moreover, the court system could neither be blamed for not issuing an HDO, because apparently, not a single case has been filed against Gou, at least not yet, as far as I know.

Despite all the time and efforts that have been spent on the hearings surrounding POGOs in general and Gou in particular, we are now reminded that the Senate is not a court of law, therefore it could not sentence anyone to go to jail, and neither could it issue HDOs. Of course, the Senate could detain anyone for contempt, but that is not the same as sending people to jail.

But assuming that an HDO was issued, that is only supposedly the trigger, because the bigger challenge is to quickly transmit the order to all exit points in the Philippines, using the fastest possible means. As far as I know however, there is apparently no analog or digital communications system that could possibly make that happen. First of all, I doubt if there is really a complete directory of these exit points. If I am to build such a complete communications system, I will make sure that I will include landline calls, mobile calls, satellite phones, UHF/VHF radios, email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, and even Morse Code if I could. Of course, even letters and parcels could be used, but these could be extra means only if there is no real emergency.

In many countries, they have a "be on the lookout" (BOLO) system that enables local and national law enforcement agencies to keep track of people on the run. According to www.cleverism.com, a BOLO is used to "officers in other parts of a city or country to be on the lookout for a fugitive, criminal or law offender that is on the run". Bottom line, what we need is a BOLO system that could be used to quickly transmit HDOs.

Producing biogas from sewage

Can our engineers and inventors design a system that can convert sewage to biogas? Or is there a system already and all we have to do is to find it? The following information is provided by Co-Pilot, the AI engine of Microsoft (quoted verbatim as follows with attribution): Let’s explore the fascinating process of converting sewage to biogas. It’s like turning waste into a renewable superhero—green, efficient, and ready to power our world! The Sewage Saga Begins: Imagine a bustling wastewater treatment plant—the backstage of our cities. Here’s where sewage sludge (the leftover gunk) accumulates. But wait! We’re about to give this sludge a makeover. The Pretreatment Twist: Our heroes—the researchers at Washington State University—introduced a new player: pretreatment technology. This extra step involves using oxygen-containing high-pressure steam to break down sewage sludge. Think of it as a spa day for waste. The Biogas Transformation: The magic happens during anaerobic digestion (no oxygen, please). Microbes feast on the organic material in the sludge. Result? Biogas! It’s mostly methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Biogas can: Produce Electricity: Spin those turbines! Upgrade to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG): Feed it into the natural gas grid. Reduce Fossil Fuel Use: Hello, circular economy! The Circular Economy Dance: Imagine wastewater treatment plants generating their own electricity or even contributing to the natural gas grid. It’s like turning waste into wealth—closing loops, reducing costs, and benefiting the environment. The Bottom Line: This isn’t high-tech wizardry; it’s practical and scalable. Even small communities can join the biogas party. So, next time you flush, remember: You’re a part of the grand sewage opera, starring microbes, pipes, and a dash of steam. AGAIN, THANKS TO MICROSOFT CO-PILOT FOR THIS VERY USEFUL INFORMATION.