IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The local government of Cauayan, Isabela, defines its own “smart city” sans highly urbanized metropolis with autonomous cars roaming the streets.

The northern Luzon city of Cauayan in Isabela, one of the country’s premier agro-industrial hubs, is also one of the Philippines’ first smart cities. It has its own citizen app, a unified electronic payment system across the town, and free Wi-Fi in its barangays to help the local government deliver its services to citizens more efficiently.

The future of cities may be digital, but the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) believes the heart of a smart city is still its people.

This message resonated throughout the third International Smart City Exposition and Networking Engagement (iSCENE), hosted by Cauayan City—one of the country’s pioneering smart cities.

Rather than imposing high-tech solutions from the top down, the head of the science agency called for locally grounded innovations to shape the future of smart communities.

At the third International Smart City Exposition and Networking Engagement (iSCENE) in Cauayan City, Isabela—which is regarded as one of the country’s pioneers in “smart governance”—Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. underscored that communities must not be passive recipients of technology.

Information technology is now an essential part of life. From the individual who uses a smartphone or laptop to the company that relies on big databases and cloud computing, IT has made tasks easier to accomplish and goals faster to achieve. It has, in short, resulted in efficiency.

The same can be true for the government, especially in the way it deals with ordinary citizen. As it is, the way state agencies conduct many essential public services can best be described as antiquated. Ordinary citizens’ transactions with the government—particularly with local government units—are so time-consuming, aggravating, and prone to corruption because they have to deal with manual records to be printed on paper and face-to-face dealings with government employees.

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The Korean Government said a consortium of 23 public institutions and private companies has been established amid plans to build urban infrastructure and develop smart cities in the Philippines, according to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).

“The National Agency for Administrative City Construction [NAACC], led by Administrator KIM Hyeong Ryeol, is leveraging its expertise in the Administrative City Sejong development and international networks to support Korean companies entering the Philippine urban development market,” BCDA said in a statement on Monday.

The municipalities of Cavinti, Famy, Kalayaan, Luisiana, Lumban, Mabitac, Magdalena, Majayjay, Paete, Pagsanjan, Pakil, Pangil, Pila, Siniloan, Sta. Maria and Sta. Cruz trimmed down processing steps down to the minimum 4 steps.

The reforms included the reduction of requirements in documents, clearances and the number of signatories, and the setting of maximum transaction times for every sub-process.

The City of Carmona in nearby Cavite province is leveraging the support of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and international partners to advance its goal of becoming a “smart city.”

This can be gleaned after the Carmona City government signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with DOST's Innovation, Science, and Technology for Accelerating Regional Technology-based Development Program (iSTART).

Often referred to as the “dormitory town” of Metro Manila, the City of San Pedro, Laguna, aims to veer away from the moniker and reintroduce what it can offer to residents, tourists and investors.

“‘That’s what we’re known for right now—as a residential community with plenty of residents working in other cities. That is what we want to change,” Mayor Art Joseph Francis Mercado told the Inquirer.

The city government of Santa Rosa recognized the vital role of the youth in advancing its vision of becoming a smart and sustainable city during the launching of the Lion City Youth Summit on December 17.

The summit aims to inspire and empower the youth of Santa Rosa to recognize their potential, embrace their purpose, and lead with integrity and compassion.

The city of Santa Rosa in Laguna is leading the charge for the smart city revolution in CALABARZON, becoming the first local government unit in the region to pursue international certification for smart city development.

DOST CALABARZON Regional Director Emelita Bagsit said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas that the city’s cutting-edge digital initiatives and sustainable urban solutions is setting it as the benchmark for other cities aiming for digital transformation.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) launched Free Wi-Fi sites in the Province of Antique, as part of the DICT’s flagship program Broadband ng Masa.

The launching ceremony was held on Friday, March 3, 2023, at the University of Antique and included the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to launch E-governance in the province.

Only 30% of local government units (LGUs) have taken measures to digitize their processes, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.

DILG Undersecretary Epimaco V. Densing III said at an online briefing Thursday that only a small fraction of local governments have been digitizing some aspect of their operations, from registration processes to pandemic response.

Too many Local Government Units (LGU) still rely on old systems, agencies are wary about sharing, and there’s no national ‘must-do’ to make data sharing the norm.

Ever sat through rush hour in Metro Manila, wondering why we can’t seem to fix traffic, waste, flooding, or even outbreaks of disease? We have the answers all around us, buried in mountains of data that simply refuse to talk to each other.

The new biometrics system, which underwent a “mock test,” together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Eastern Visayas Region, is set to be launched in Matag-ob, Leyte later this August.

The provincial government of Leyte is undertaking an ambitious yet essential initiative aimed at digitizing government operations in a bid to improve public service delivery, increase transparency, and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla said a number of projects which have been started by the province since 2022 is part of a broader strategy to modernize the public sector and align it with global standards of governance in the digital age.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan members including Bagulaya now use laptops installed with the Sanggunian Information System (SIS) a legislative tracking and performance monitoring project which is part of Improving Local Operations through eGovernance.

Bagulaya said they are implementing a new system for an electronic or paperless session, wherein the agenda and minutes of every SP session are accessible through laptop computers. The ordinances and resolutions could be immediately accessed instead of reproducing hard copies for SP members, she added.

Saying local governments’ limited access to computers hinders timely delivery of basic public services, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara has asked local government units (LGUs) to frontload the adoption of digital transformation to promptly address the problem.

“To bolster the country’s efforts in developing and implementing e-government services,” Angara asserted that LGUs should “take the lead in digital transformation for the public sector.”

The Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) will be installing a high-speed internet network with a speed of up to one gigabyte per second (Gbps) at the Malasakit Center of the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7).

The two agencies recently inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) wherein the DICT will provide high-speed internet access for the Government Network (GovNet) of LTO-7.

Baguio City, a popular tourist destination in the Philippines, delivers its public services to its residents and visitors through an advanced Command Center.

In partnership with Cisco, a digital solutions company, the province built its Smart City Command Center to centralize and digitalize its operations for better governance.

The command center was inaugurated in September 2021.