In an effort to enable Local Government Units (LGUs) to deliver more efficient and accessible services to their respective communities, the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) awarded six municipal e-governance systems to the municipalities of Nabua and Bula in the hope to serve as a model for smart governance for local government offices.

DOST-PCIEERD turned over six (6) interrelated systems that shall work as a cluster of interdependent modules in the following areas:

• Legislative Management and Tracking System is an application that tracks the status, manages, and stores all communications, requests, proposed resolutions and ordinances, Sanggguniang Bayan resolutions, and ordinances.
• The e-Building Permit System is a 24/7 service that systemizes the building permit process by allowing citizens to easily track the progress of permit requests, schedule inspections, attach electronic plans and requirements, receive corrections, leave messages, and self-print certifications.
• The Real Property Assessment and Tax Management System is an application that automates real property transactions and provide onscreen public viewings of delinquent real properties for auction and the online printing of Declaration of Real Property Value (DRPV).
• The e-Business Permit and Licensing System allows for the computerization of the permit application process, assessment of taxes and fees, billing, and liquidation of collections.
• Financial accounting uses the Point of Payment System (PoPS) which acts as the central unit that accepts and manages payment transactions from fees, taxes, and charges being collected by LGUs.
• The Local ID System aims to enhance the portfolio of citizen-centric services.

 

All of these systems were developed by the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges.

With the passage of the Ease of Doing Business Act, which seeks to provide simpler requirements and easier procedures for government transactions, innovations in government service tends to be more LGU-centric to promote transparency, accountability, and effectiveness in their services.

DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit expressed optimism on the prospects of having the system replicated to other LGUs in the country.

“We hope that other LGUs can look at the innovations that the Nabua municipal office has incorporated and see it as a model in improving their own services and processes,” he said.

Paringit said DOST-PCIEERD initiated transformation of local government services into a one-stop web portal solution by automating level operations across departments and sub-offices in consonance with the Smart City program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) – starting off with the municipalities of Nabua and Bula in Camarines Sur.

He said this e-governance initiative provides automated management, administration, and analytic systems for LGUs to encourage citizen participation and bring in added opportunities through open source technologies.

Paringit also urged policy makers to provide funding in LGUs to cover human resource and equipment and integrate an e-governance funding scheme into the municipalities’ annual budget plan.

“Sustaining the innovations we have started entails bankrolling these initiatives that will make sure that they are optimized to its full potential,” he said.

LGU-based solutions are important in developing smart cities as it provides a better foundation and innovation on government services and transactions that they offer to their constituents.

DOST-PCIEERD will be celebrating its 9th anniversary in June with the theme “Smart Governance: Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation,” which highlights the different technologies that the Innovation Council has funded on smart governance.