Commerce eyes online innovations

The Department of Commerce plans to soon implement innovations that will better serve the community and launching a new online portal is just one of its plans.

Commerce Secretary Mark O. Rabauliman said the new online portal would make transactions with the department more efficient.

The project is also the result of the agency’s application to gain grants. “Of course we’re trying to apply for other grants but the critical one is the online portal, which is a grant that we received from the [Office of Insular Affairs]” said Rabauliman. “This project is to streamline all processing and enable online payment, all for the sake of convenience. [This is] to also streamline all processes and transactions in our department and other attached agencies.”

The Office of Weights and Measures, one of two attached agencies under the Enforcement and Compliance Division (the other being the Bureau of Taxicabs headed by director David Palacios) would also get an upgrade.

“On our enforcement side, [OWM] just recently got certified for package weighing. We’re also looking to purchase a new software that would help our officers with their field work for more automation and this would include our surrounding islands [Tinian and Rota],” said Rabauliman.

He said he would meet with all agencies and divisions under his department so they could review some of the programs they offer. They also just finished with their household expenditure survey a few months ago and would soon release the data.

“As far as economic development, we would meet with all stakeholders and revisit other agencies to see what programs they’ve been working on, to kind of get an update, know the status of these programs, and to see if it needs enhancement,” said Rabauliman.

He is also monitoring the insurance side of the Affordable Care Act after President-elect Donald J. Trump and the GOP-dominated U.S. Congress stated that they plan to repeal it. “We’re also revisiting the insurance because the President-elect wants to repeal it. …We want to see what direction they want to go with it. We’re constantly communicating with our State counterparts so that’s something that we’re really keeping an eye on,” added Rabauliman, who is also the department’s insurance commissioner.

“The last time, the territories were not included and now we are given a seat at the table where we could put in our contributions,” he added.