Baguio Phl third best in Covid-19 response

CITY HALL BEAT
Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY placed third nationwide in the Best in Covid-19 response in the 2020 Digital Governance Awards which gives recognition to the digital initiatives of local government units in the country.
    A total of 56 LGUs joined the awards program jointly undertaken by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) with the vision of integrating ICT capabilities and solutions to the different sectors of the society, to discover ICT potentials towards raising the bar in delivering public service and for local government units to be catalysts for change.
    City Planning and Development Officer architect Donna Tabangin said the city was recognized for its COVID tracing system which comprises of an aggregate surveillance tracker, support package as well as an automated analytics device.
"The case-base surveillance tracker captures symptoms, demographics, risk factors and exposures, records of laboratory results and links to confirmed cases, treatment and response, and monitoring through contact tracing follow up program.             Moreover, travelers who have visited high risk locations and would like to travel in and out of the city can access and online declaration system integrated into the COVID E-System tracker," Tabangin said.
    The city was a finalist in three e-GOV categories: first, the Baguio Visitor Information and Travel Assistance (V.I.S.I.T.A) for the Best in Customer Empowerment (G2C) Award which uses ICT solutions in engaging the public and in using electronic facilities and channels towards providing improved, timely and relevant delivery of public services.  This program is led by City Tourism Operations Officer Engr. Aloysius Mapalo, Michael Uminga and Johnvee Uminga;
    Second, the City’s Cashless Payment Solutions for the Best in Business Empowerment (G2B) Award for integrating ICT solutions and the City’s responsiveness to the needs of business enterprises to create business opportunities led by Management Information Technical Division head Francis Camarao, Baguio in my Pocket coordinator MJ Barin and Squidpay cashless payment company representative Elmar Panganiban; and
    Third, the Contact Tracing E-Systems of the City for the Best in COVID-19 Response category for setting a good example to other LGUs by leveraging a digital platform to fight the pandemic which is under City Epidemiologist Dr. Donnabelle Panes and data analysts Mischelle Junio and Shanry Roberts.
    Tabangin said, "The City will continue to use ICT in the delivery of services, document best practices to serve as an example and benchmark to other LGUs, improve the business ecosystem of the City, promote transparency and accountability in Local governance, and contribute to the digital transformation of the country."
    This year's awards program theme was "Digital Governance Awards 2020: LGUs Innovative Practice in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)."
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A total of 5,748 tourists are expected to arrive in the city in the next two weeks (Dec. 18 to 31).
Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Aloysius Mapalo said the number is based on the approved travels and potential arrivals in visita.baguio.gov.ph., the city’s registration platform for tourists.
    “The highest arrival can happen on Dec. 23 with 843 and on Dec. 24 with 836 while the highest accumulated number of tourists inside the city is expected on Dec. 26 at 3,236,” he added.
    The city has increased its daily limit of tourist arrivals to 1,000 this month.  All of them had to satisfy the requirements for health and safety protocols which include undergoing tests for Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). 
    Other requirements are the online filling out of registration forms and submission of documents (ID, negative swab or antigen test results and itinerary).
    Mapalo said the expected number of tourist arrivals is still way below the city’s pre-pandemic levels.
    “These days (third and fourth weeks of December) are our traditional peak season when the city receives up to 6,000 to 8,000 visitors daily,” he said.