House okays eBayad bill on 2nd reading

The House of Representatives voting

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading House Bill 8468 or the proposed eBayad Act.”We are inching closer to mandate digital payments in all government transactions,” House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos said in a statement on Thursday.

“People’s time should not be wasted on queues and back-and-forth transactions. Through the eBayad bill, we are building a government that delivers faster, cleaner, and more convenient transactions for ordinary Filipinos,” Marcos said in Filipino and English.

The bill aims to “institutionalize the use of safe and efficient digital payment systems in financial transactions of the government and merchants.”

Agencies covered by the bill would be “required to use safe, efficient and inclusive digital disbursement for payments of goods and services and other government outlays, including cash assistance, as well as the payment of salaries, wages, allowances and honoraria of employees across national agencies, government corporations, local government units, state universities and colleges, and local universities and colleges.

Covered agencies would be required to offer the digital mode to collect “taxes, tolls, imposts and other revenues, including non-income collections and receipts” but cash mode would still be an option. — Reina C. Tolentino