IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The region is working with Iveda on a series of smart city and digital transformation projects and has just completed an intelligent video surveillance pilot in Caloocan.

Metro Manila, one of three defined metropolitan areas of the Philippines, has partnered with Iveda for a series of smart city and digital transformation projects.

About 80 percent of the transactions and work in the finance division of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) is still done manually despite the available accounting system.

Minda Finance Division Supervising Administrative Officer Aurora Cuello said government leaders should have a changed mindset towards e-governance for convenience and a more efficient delivery of service to the citizens.

Stating the Aquino administration’s official stance on the matter, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) secretary Mario Montejo said in an executive forum that the country has no urgent need for a Department of ICT (DICT).

Speaking at the recent “DICT debate forum” organized by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City, Montejo argued that it may no longer be necessary to create a DICT since the DOST has the “competence and experience to uphold the interests of the ICT sector.”

For the past few months, the government has been dealing with challenges in implementing an efficient way to do contact tracing for citizens who have been in close contact with a COVID-19 positive. Establishments ask their customers to provide their contact details through forms that are given on entrance doors, which causes heavy crowd getting bottlenecked, forgetting the physical distance rule. Not to mention that high inaccuracy as this is done manual and with no means of verifying if the customer information provided is true and correct.

MYEG PHILIPPINES, INC. (MYEG PH), a market leader in electronic solutions championing government services online automation, has been providing eGovernment services in both Malaysia and the Philippines for the last 18 years through its technology platform encompassing internet, automation, big data and electronic payments.

The proportion of business establishments accessing internet to get information useful to their business activities reached 78 percent, based on the preliminary results of the 2010 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT) of the Philippine Business and Industry that were presented by NSO during the regional data dissemination seminar held Dec. 12 here.

Muntinlupa City is on the cusp of a remarkable transformation into the city of the future, with advancements that will have a profound impact on its residents. Mayor Ruffy Biazon recently announced that the city's ambitious plans to achieve "Smart City" status are well underway, and significant improvements in government transactions are just around the corner. The mayor expressed his determination and excitement about this endeavor, highlighting how these ongoing projects will simplify government transactions, enable data-driven decision making, and establish a reliable database for transparent and efficient governance.

Under Biazon's guidance, the Management Information Systems office has successfully developed and tested various computerized systems that streamline processes and facilitate online transactions through a comprehensive database. One notable example involves online permit applications from the Office of the Building Official and the Assessor's Office. While it may not receive the same attention as infrastructure and public facilities, this project holds great promise in enhancing the delivery of government services, which will directly benefit the people of Muntinlupa.

As Muntinlupa eagerly anticipates its 29th Cityhood Anniversary on March 1, the city is gearing up for a day of celebration and reflection under the theme “Progressive Pathways Towards Smart City Excellence.”

The anniversary festivities will kick off with a Holy Mass at 6:30 AM, setting a tone of gratitude and unity as the community comes together to mark this significant milestone.

The Muntinlupa City government held the groundbreaking ceremony to upgrade the facilities at the police headquarters as part of its smart city plan.

Mayor Ruffy Biazon led the groundbreaking ceremony at the Philippine National Police-Muntinlupa headquarters in Barangay Tunasan.

According to the World Economic Forum, “a smart city is one that uses technology to efficiently engage citizens and meet their needs.”

The city’s vision for a tech-powered future is ambitious, but overcoming the challenges and building trust with its residents can unlock its potential to become a model for other Philippine cities looking to embrace technology for a brighter tomorrow.

Muntinlupa City is poised for a significant transformation — a metamorphosis into a Smart City and under the leadership of Mayor Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon, the city is actively implementing projects designed to streamline government services, leverage data for informed decision-making and ultimately, create a more efficient and transparent governance system.

Dubbed as the Navotas City Health Project, the partnership between Navotas City and University of the Philippines-Manila National Telehealth Center (UPM NTHC) will be sealed with a ceremonial signing on Monday of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).

During the signing, UPM NTHC director Portia Grace Fernandez-Marcelo will hand over a BlackBerry smartphone to Navotas acting City Health Officer Liberty C. Domingo to indicate a “ceremonial transfer of technology”.

Unless they enter their biometrics data into the Commission on Elections (Comelec) voters’ list, close to 5 million registered voters may not be allowed to cast ballots in the 2016 elections.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that of the 52 million registered voters, 4.7 million had yet to enrol their biometrics data consisting of digital fingerprints, photo and signature, with the poll body.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is already preparing 13 sector-wide master plans in identified urban areas nationwide to help these urban corridors adopt smart city principles.

In a recent forum, Neda OIC-Undersecretary Jonathan L. Uy said the plans are being created for the emerging megacities of the Philippines. The megacities in the country are Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.

Bacolod City, together with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), launched on Tuesday, March 14, the Palengke-QR (Quick Response) Ph Plus for the use of digital payments in public markets and transportation hubs, at the Libertad Market here.

Bacolod is the first local government unit in the Western Visayas region and the seventh in the country to adopt the program.

The City of Victorias in Negros Occidental is making significant strides in digital governance by collaborating with a mobile commerce services company for an expanded program to further empower the local government unit (LGU), micro, small and medium enterprises, and its residents.

“It is our vision to have a digitally inclusive and innovative city, where all will benefit from the advantages of going digital,” Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez said in a statement on Thursday.

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo assured the public on Monday that the planned revival of the National Broadband Network (NBN) project would not deteriorate into another scandal comparable to the one that erupted over the scuttled deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

A change of name from the NBN to the Government Broadband Network (GBN), reduced cost and transparency in all stages, are the hallmarks of the revived project, according to Montejo, the guest during Monday’s Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel.

The Philippine government will be launching a project to facilitate interoperability within various offices and to streamline data management. This was announced on February 26 by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Government IT experts and officials are meeting on February 26 to finalize a policy document regarding the undertaking. A framework on technical interoperability was completed last year and another policy document—which will deal with business process interoperability—is expected to be finished this year.

The establishment of DICT was first announced in the previous ICT masterplan from 2004-2010. Meant to effectively coordinate and implement the national ICT development agenda, policies, programmes and projects, the DICT never came to pass. In February 2010, a bill to create a fully-fledged Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) in the Philippines was thrown out by Congress.

In the new plan however, the current Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) looks set to be transformed into the DICT. The PDP states that: “Transforming the CICT into the DICT should result in a thorough implementation of the national e-strategies cutting across critical sectors such as e-education and e-health, and the country’s representation in international and regional ICT bodies.”

In his first interview since being appointed by Malacanang last week, Louis Casambre said his experience in the private sector allowed him to see the problems of the industry, which he now intends to address as the first head of the ICTO, formerly known as the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).

In its initial form, however, the new system will enable the bureau to match only payments made during a one-time amnesty in 2007 with the assets of availing taxpayers.

The bureau will be able to do this since the system will be linked to the databases of other agencies.

"The DBM (Department of Budget and Management) approved the project already, so the BIR can already start the bidding [for the project]," Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said on Friday last week.

The event, which will run until Friday, Sep. 20, carries the theme: “Bringing ICT Oppurtunities to Countryside Filipino Talents.”

City Councilor Ramon Carampatana who represented City Mayor Ferdinand Amante, Jr. welcomed the participants of the event.