IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has urged all public servants across the Philippines to embrace digital technologies and innovations to modernise government services and enhance public sector efficiency.

Speaking at Malacañan Palace on Thursday during the ceremonial presentation of the signed Memorandum of Agreement for the Philippine Civil Service Digital Leadership Program, President Marcos emphasised the importance of innovation in achieving better service outcomes for the Filipino people.

Iligan City has taken a significant step toward becoming a smarter and more resilient urban centre with the official launch of the Township Innovation Management Application (TIMApp). This digital platform is designed to enhance local governance, streamline city planning and bolster disaster preparedness through the integration of technology, data and innovation.

TIMApp is a flagship initiative under the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Smart and Sustainable Communities Programme (SSCP), which advocates for the use of science, technology and innovation to support sustainable development in local communities. Iligan is one of six pilot local government units (LGUs) in Region 10 selected to participate in the programme, reflecting its commitment to forward-looking, citizen-focused governance.

The EGMP 2022 aims to provide more efficient and cost-effective public services to citizens and businesses.

The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is on its third year of fulfilling its mission to establish a one digitised government.

As such, it recently launched the E-Government Masterplan (EGMP) 2022.

A lot of cities have this mistaken notion that if they automate some of their internal processes like business permits and licensing, they now join the ranks of cities considered to be smart. They may have taken the first step towards becoming one, but their journey still has a long way to go. It usually is not a smooth journey, with a lot of iterations along the way but the end goal will always have a lasting impact on the constituents if done properly. And if the city leaders think it is just about technology and should be delegated to their ICT staff, they are terribly wrong.

Digital connectivity plays a very important role in the cities’ journey. It is the platform necessary to enable their constituents to access services virtually, develop a digital culture that would allow them to take advantage of opportunities resulting from digitalization, and allow the cities to easily implement sustainability initiatives.

With urbanization here to stay, our future lies in our cities. The Philippines’ urban population is projected to double by 2050, while Southeast Asia’s urbanization rate is at an all-time high.

While cities lie at the forefront of climate change, accounting for over 70 percent of global carbon emissions, they can also catalyze change as hubs for innovation, offering solutions for a sustainable future.

“Time is running out with the current Congress coming to a close,” said Roxas-Chua. “There are only five session days left to get these bills passed and they have to compete with many other bills. It’s going to be an uphill battle. But we are not giving up yet. Unfortunately, if we’re not able get these bills passed in the current Congress, they will have to start from scratch in the next one.”

Toyota Motor Philippines recently handed over 10 Lite Ace vans — five each to the city governments of Santa Rosa and Pasay — as part of their push to support local efforts in becoming smarter, more connected cities. But this isn’t just about new vehicles. Toyota also threw in a one-year free subscription to a couple of digital tools designed to improve city mobility.

These vans come fully equipped with two main tech features: myToyota Shuttle PH and the Fleet Connected Service, both developed by Toyota Mobility Solutions Philippines.

On June 18th 2024, Kaohsiung Vice Mayor Charles Lin was invited to represent the Kaohsiung City Government to attend the 2nd Quarter 2024 Regular National Executive Board Meeting of the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines (VMLP) in Manila. He delivered a keynote speech entitled “People-Oriented Smart Cities: The Experience of Kaohsiung City,” highlighting Kaohsiung’s recent efforts and successes in developing a smart city and urban transformation. During the event, he exchanged insights on urban governance with Taguig City Vice Mayor Arvin Ian V. Alit, Malabon City Vice Mayor Ninong C. Dela Cruz, San Mariano-Isabela Vice Mayor Dean Anthony G. Domalanta, and 372 other vice mayor representatives from across the Philippines.

The card will be used for direct and real-time crediting of salaries and benefits to linked mobile cash wallets of employees, health beneficiaries, senior citizens, and students.

The city government of Makati City in Philippines (a part of Metro Manila)has launched the Makatizen Card, which will allow the city’s 500,000 residents to access city government services and transact with the city government. They can receive cash allowances, stipends, and other cash benefits using the Card. They can also use their cards to pay fees and taxes, as well as for personal remittances and other financial transactions. City government employees can use their Makatizen Card to receive salaries and allowances.

Zamora said, eUP’s goal is “an integrated, interconnected, harmonized, inter-operable ICT (Information and Communications Technology) system and infrastructure across all UP campuses to support its thrust for academic and operational excellence.”

Government departments can send messages to the cell phones of constituents through InfoBoard. The tool was deployed in collaboration with Smart Communications, a mobile and internet service provider in the Philippines. The government can send 30,000 free messages per month to Smart Communications’ subscribers. Messages sent to other service providers will cost the government 70 centavos (US$0.02).

The Philippines Department of Health, Tarlac Provincial Health Office and Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), through its Wireless Reach™ initiative, today announced the successful completion of the Wireless Access for Health project's pilot phase. The project participants leveraged their expertise and resources in public health, medical care, technology and training to create an electronic health record system that meets the needs of health care decision makers on varying levels, ranging from midwives to doctors to policy makers. Results at the conclusion of the pilot phase, which recorded over 12,000 patient consultations, indicate that such a system is not only feasible and improves patient care in rural health clinics, but also has a real impact for decision makers.