U.S. ICT Solutions in Managing COVID-19

"There is no doubt that smart city development will dominate the local governance agenda in the months ahead and in the years to come. With a global health crisis that requires efficient, surgical actions at the local level, technologies such as those offered by our friends from the U.S. private sector will help keep track of future COVID-19 outbreaks, mitigate the impacts of lockdowns to our residents, sustain operations in city halls, and revive businesses and local economies.

I am pleased to note that several of my colleagues in the League of Cities of the Philippines have adopted smart city solutions to address the COVID-19 pandemic. To name a few, we have Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong and his contact tracing platform, Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez and Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez with their own COVID-19 surveillance apps, and, lastly, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay, who has been leading the way in delivering cash assistance to residents using the city’s own ID card system.

IT-based solutions and tools for smart city development will also play a major role in the post-COVID-19 recovery of cities. I am very confident that the momentum created by COVID-19 will push local governments to capitalize on data and technology to rebuild urban communities that are safe, healthy, sustainable, and resilient.

I am quite fortunate that in Cauayan City, our LGU has already embraced technology early on, allowing us to become the Department of Science and Technology’s first smart city in the country in 2015. Under my leadership, we have developed a citizen app, created a unified electronic payment system, and empowered our farmers with digital tools under our Digital Farmers Program, among others."

--Cauayan City Mayor and LCP Focal Mayor for Infrastructure Development Bernard Faustino Dy, opening the virtual roadshow on U.S. ICT Solutions in Managing COVID-19 last 25 September 2020