IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez this total is the highest ever recorded to participate in the country’s elections. According to a report in ABSCBNnews.com, the first automated polls in the Philippines in 2010 saw nearly 51 million voters register.

CEBU CITY was a big winner during the 2018 Digital Cities Philippines (DCP) Awards Night.

Some 65 projects from 36 local government units (LGUs) were recognized as nominees for six categories. Cebu was the only city that took home two grand awards last Oct. 12 in Manila.

It bagged the Best Data Driven Governance (D2G) award for its Geo-hazard mapping information system and the Best in e-Government Systems for Global Competitiveness (G2W) award for its Cebu business application and online analytics.

As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, most governments have temporarily closed all educational institutions. These nationwide closures have impacted 90 per cent of the world’s student population. Localised closures in other countries have affected millions of additional learners.

Consequently, there is an unprecedented shift toward distance learning. Institutes are rushing to move their courses online; students are flocking to e-books and e-learning, and researchers are relying heavily on electronic journals.

A robust and pervasive digital network to roll out advancements such as 5G technology can help address the everyday problems of Filipinos and is essential to a sustainable digital future. This was the key insight shared by the Vice President of a Philippine network provider.

“We believe that with the limitations and challenges our country faces today, digital is the answer to many of our problems. The foundation of a successful digital economy is a superior network utilising first-world technology. Once we achieve this, we will be closer to our mission of seeing a Philippine where families’ dreams come true, businesses flourish, and the whole nation is admired,” he said.

Iveda’s Joint Venture to partner with 100 Philippines government units across the region to modernize key infrastructure for improved public safety and more

Iveda® (NASDAQ:IVDA), the global solution for cloud-based AI, proudly announces Iveda Philippines JV (joint venture) is set to achieve $5M in executed contracts over the next 12 months, declaring 2024 its banner year. Following the success of its Iveda Safe City presentations throughout 2023, with cities across the nation witnessing the potential of Iveda's innovative solutions, several city budgets across the region are gearing up to integrate IvedaAI into their operational frameworks in 2024. Cities in this initiative include Cebu (the largest in the Philippines), Bacolod, Iloilo, and Davao, marking a significant stride towards a safer and more technologically advanced urban landscape.

• KT Wins a $47 Million Contract to Build Optical Fiber Network in Luzon
• New Deal in Philippines to Provide Foothold into Southeast Asian Markets

KT signed a 53 billion won (US$ 47 million) contract last week with the Philippines's Converge ICT Solutions Inc. to build an optical fiber network along some 1,570 kilometers (975 miles) of main roads in the northern region of Luzon. The company hopes the contract will lead to more business partnerships with the top Philippines Internet provider in the future.

Makati City is the lone finalist from the Philippines and the Asia Pacific at this year's World Smart City Awards, its local government said Saturday.

Six cities from six countries are vying for the City Award category, which recognizes a city with "developed global strategies combining projects, initiatives and policy implementations for their citizens."

Competing for the award are Sunderland in the United Kingdom, Cascais in Portugal, İzmir in Turkey, Curitiba in Brazil, and Barranquilla in Colombia. This year, the 2023 Call for Awards received 411 top-level proposals under different categories from 63 countries.

The city of Makati is laying the groundwork to become the country’s first smart city by harnessing technology to maintain its competitive edge as the country’s undisputed financial center.

Makati is partnering with the private sector through various initiatives such as utilizing technology to improve public service and governance, Makati City Mayor Abigail “Abby” Binay said in a speech before the non-government Foundation for Economic Freedom.

As the effects of the global pandemic, COVID-19 has brought a “new normal” to the government, businesses and citizens around the globe.

Apart from implementing restrictive measures, community quarantine and work from home orders, the government and most businesses are starting to adapt and transform their current models by promoting contactless transactions as part of the “new normal”.

The Philippine Space Agency has begun its pre-implementation of a new project to capacitate and enable various sectors to access and use space data in accordance with their needs. The PhilSA Space Information Infrastructure Bureau will carry out the PINAS project, which stands for PhilSA Integrated Network for Space-Enabled Actions Toward Sustainability (SIIB).

"PINAS will be an active community of national government agencies, local government units (LGU), research institutions, the civil society, and the private sector, working collaboratively on the socially responsive use of space data and information." – Dr Ariel C. Blanco, Director, Space Information Infrastructure Bureau

Collaborative studies in science and technology have the potential of easing the burden as well as producing more impressive results. That may not be more applicable than these days with countries being deeply impacted by the onslaught of the virus. The Philippines is partnering with a premier Australian institute to do joint research and upgrade its digital health system with the latest tools in ICT. According to the DOST, the new partnership with RMIT is for scientific cooperation.

The Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia have agreed to work together on digital health programs. This should provide needed results given that the collaboration is planning to use the latest emerging technology.

Rosemarie Pendon, 24, lives in Lagro, Quezon City and has mobile broadband sticks from three different telecommunications networks (telcos) but none can provide the sufficient signal for her to connect to the Internet while inside her home.

Voting 18-0, Bill 1030 was passed and requires voters who haven’t already submitted a biometric profile to appear before an election officer to have their photographs, fingerprints, and signatures processed for upcoming elections.

According to Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation, Bill 1030 “will allow a thorough cleansing of the national voters’ registry that will reduce, if not eliminate, cheating and sure that the result of elections are reflective of the genuine will of the people.”

The Philippines has shown improvements in terms of download and upload speeds amid investments being made by telcos to provide better services to customers, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said.

Citing data from internet metrics provider Ookla’s speedtest.net, NTC deputy commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said in a telephone interview yesterday the Philippines has made gains in terms of internet speed as it ranked 11th in terms of average download speed and upload speed globally this year.

A government plan to privatize its network of Telecommunications Offices (Telof) nationwide will no longer be pursued, as it is mulling the use of those facilities for a project aimed at connecting the national bureaucracy all the way down to the barangay level using broadband technology.

Documents obtained from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) showed that the old equipment of Telof will no longer be sold, and instead will be used for the National Broadband Network (NBN) Project.

We are all familiar with the iconic black and white square design of a QR code today. The steadily increasing penetration of smartphones and access to high-speed internet has resulted in the widespread use of QR codes.

One of the most significant advantages of using QR codes is that it allows for instant payment. When compared to other modes of payment, paying with QR codes is extremely fast. To process the payment, a user only needs to open the QR code scan app, scan the QR code, and confirm. The payments are made in a matter of seconds.

Technology has permeated every fiber of society so much it relies on it on a regular basis. The same is true of how cities operate to meet the needs of its residents. This has given rise to what is called "smart cities."

What is a smart city?

As defined on Wikipedia, "A smart city is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect specific data." This data is used to improve the city government's operations to make it more efficient in meeting the needs of its residents. This also ensures a better quality of government service and citizen welfare.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together on building the 9,450-hectare New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, Philippines.

“With Singapore as a global frontrunner in smart city development, we at BCDA are very fortunate to have EnterpriseSG as our partner to facilitate knowledge exchange and link us with Singaporean firms who have the experience and expertise in the field. This MOU will surely be instrumental in achieving our goal of developing New Clark City into a smart, green, sustainable, and highly liveable metropolis,” says Aileen R. Zosa, BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Philippines-based firm Smart Citi Teknologi (SCT) entered into a memorandum of agreement with Czech company Tesla Smart Technologies to build a smart city in Manila. Mario Marcos and Peter Matejcek, the chief executive officers of the two companies, met in Makati City on Monday to form the deal. Also in attendance to witness the signing was Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala as part of his two-day visit in the country to boost bilateral and business relations.

The smart city project aims to promote a technology-driven lifestyle and develop an infrastructure that can withstand natural calamities while remaining carbon-neutral. From the reports of Tesla and SCT, the development will also increase the extraction of natural resources by 15% and keep extraction costs low by utilizing proprietary hardware and software. Marcos also said the project will tap the talents of Filipino experts in the information technology industry.

In a recent discussion hosted by an international research organisation based in the Philippines called Digital Readiness PH: Fostering a Digital Empowerment Agenda, the country’s telecom service provider’s Senior Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Head of Corporate Communications announced the company is investing $2.1 billion in capital expenditure this year to expand the country’s digital infrastructure.

If the Philippines government intends to boost digital infrastructure and promote economic resiliency, it is mentioned that the government must adopt and consider the private sector’s initiative in infrastructure investment to improve internet connectivity and lower costs.