ASSESSING DIGITAL GOVERNANCE IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

The research investigated the difficulties that barangay secretaries in Padada, Davao del Sur, faced when
implementing Republic Act No. 12254, known as the E-Governance Act, during their transition from paperbased to digital administrative systems. The research employed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework for a systematic literature review to achieve transparent and
rigorous article selection and synthesis, addressing three research questions related to implementation obstacles,
official responses, and required training programs. The research included articles on digital governance, ICT
adoption, online service delivery, and e-government practices from 2015 to 2025, but excluded studies without
clear methodological approaches to preserve analytical precision. The review analyzed digital governance
challenges through six essential themes, including a lack of Infrastructure and Internet Connectivity, limited
digital skills among LGU Staff, Low Citizen Adoption and Participation, Policy, Regulation, and Governance
Gaps, LGU Capacity and Resource Limitations, and Security and Privacy Concerns. The research results
demonstrated multiple obstacles that barangay officials must overcome through specific solutions that combine
infrastructure development with staff training, policy improvement, and citizen participation initiatives to
achieve lasting digital governance success in local communities.