Puerto Rico government officials announced the launch of the “Identificación Electrónica de Acceso en Línea” platform, known as IDEAL, an online tool that connects public agencies, vowing to eliminate bureaucracy and streamline processes that citizens and businesses get when submitting applications for certifications, services, contracts, and permits.

During a news conference, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said IDEAL, which is part of the government’s public policy related to technology passed in February 2021, removes the responsibility from the individual of “going from agency to agency seeking certifications that the government already has in its possession, by consolidating and digitising the documents.”

“The IDEAL interoperability application eliminates administrative obstacles once and for all, since the government won’t ask the citizen for documents that it had at the time of the transaction,” the governor said.

Drogueria Betances did not immediately return a message for comment. The complaint filed by the US government comes after the US territory of 3.2 million people reported a surge in deadly overdoses related to opioids, from 19 deaths in 2017 to 521 in 2021, according to the newest figures available.

In its initial phase of implementation, IDEAL will connect the Treasury Department, the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP, in Spanish), the Child Support Administration, the Labour Department, the Police Bureau, the State Insurance Fund Corp. (CFSE, in Spanish), the Municipal Revenues Collection Centre, the State Department, and the General Services Administration, said the government’s Chief Innovation and Information Officer, Enrique Völckers-Nin.

“IDEAL is a tool that Puerto Rico government agency employees will use to provide a world-class service to people under strict cybersecurity measures and promote a digital, agile, immediate government operation that centralises people’s data,” said Völckers-Nin, who also directs the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service office.