The TradeNet platform of the government, which aims to reduce the processing time for import and export clearances, will be reinforced with security features that will fend off various forms of cyberattacks, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said the online trading platform will also be subjected to periodic vulnerability reviews to test its integrity.
“Our cybersecurity system will be implemented to provide monitoring and continuous vigilance services for TradeNet,” Beltran said in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III during a recent DOF Executive Committee (ExeCom) meeting.
Dominguez said the government has also launched three parallel initiatives that form part of its “comprehensive deployment of information and communications technology to enhance governance efficiency,” aside from the TradeNet platform.
These are: the Government Cloud Service (GovCloud) launched recently by the Department of Information and Communications Technology to serve as the National Government Portal for all government information, transactions and services; the PHPAY platform initiated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to function as a centralized online payment portal, transactions ledger and reconciliation system; and the Philippine Business Data Bank (PBDB), a search engine for all registered businesses in the country that will be available online for government agencies to verify records for business registration and permits.
Beltran said TradeNet.gov.ph will allow traders to initially use the system to apply for import and export permits for rice, sugar, used motor vehicles, chemicals (toluene), frozen meat, medicines and cured tobacco. The platform will eventually link 66 government agencies through a common database. It uses the PBDB for verifying business information.
Launched in December 2017, the TradeNet platform will also serve as the Philippines’s link to the Asean Single Window (ASW) gateway and is expected to minimize the costs of doing business and cut the processing time for the issuance of import and export permits.
The ASW is a regional initiative that aims to speed up cargo clearances and promote economic integration by enabling the electronic exchange of border documents among Asean members.