MANILA – Quezon City has adapted to the innovations of technology especially in disaster response, community health information tracking system, and cashless government transactions as it moves toward becoming a “smart city”, Mayor Herbert Bautista said on Wednesday.
“It cannot be denied that technology is a critical component of government efficiency. In the modern world, it is the fastest means to engage to thousands, and even millions of stakeholders quickly,” Bautista said in his speech during the opening of the 2018 Philippine Smart City Summit at the ABS-CBN Tent in Vertis North, North Avenue.
The Smart City Summit gathered government executives from Russia, South Korea, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Turkey, Mexico, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Belgium, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Sudan, Nepal, Kenya, Tunisia, Mongolia, and stakeholders in public administration to discuss and share smart city concepts, theories and best practices that will advance digital capacity and social innovation.
During the plenary sessions, representatives from the member nations discussed smart city initiatives in their country.
International leaders and Quezon City’s executives expressed their support to the Smart City Initiative by signing on a digital declaration of support.
A Smart City Urban Agenda will be created during the two-day summit.
Quezon City was chosen to host this year’s summit for its exemplary performance in governance, competitiveness, infrastructure development and economic dynamism.
The Philippine National Competitiveness Council has bestowed on Quezon City the distinction of being the most competitive highly-urbanized city in the country for three straight years.
The World Bank has cited Quezon City’s transformation from a debt-ridden, disintegrating urban center into the richest and most dynamic highly-urbanized city in the Philippines.
Since 2010, Quezon City has been recognized worldwide for its best practice in local government administration and for promoting the use of information and communications technology as a tool for governance. (Perfecto Raymundo, Jr./PNA)
