Geotagging: An Innovative Tool To Enhance Transparency and Supervision

Noel Sta. Ines at the Asian Development Bank discussed the use of geotagging and high-resolution satellite imagery to track and visualize project implementation status. The presentation highlighted the adoption of these technologies including by the Philippines Commission of Audit as part of their Citizen Participatory Audit program, in which citizens could be involved in the auditing of projects funded by the national government.

Modeling and Simulations to Investigate Congestion on Subway Systems

Professors Erika Legara and Christopher Monterola presented on leading research led by the Institute of High Performance Computing in the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore on use of big data to create simulations for the Singapore Rapid Transit System aimed to assess cost and convenience in the management of their transport systems. These models were used widely for scenario planning and disruption management, and were the basis of transport-related policy proposals of government.

OnTrackPH: Driving Data on Philippine Roads and the Path Forward

Stef Sy, CEO of Thinking Machines presented OnTrackPH - a big data machine learning and natural language processing algorithm - that enabled the fast, efficient, and scalable matching of government records across multiple disparate government databases to link national budgets to project across the entire life PFM cycle (e.g. planning, budget allocation, procurement, disbursement and audit) to strengthen tracking of investments.

Making Access to Information a Meaningful Right: The Freedom of Information Program One Year On

To promote better development, information sharing is a default practice that both ADB and the Government of the Philippines aim to promote and integrate into its internal culture. ADB, through its Philippine Country Office and Governance Thematic Group, acknowledges the need for combined efforts to push for the continuation and operationalization of freedom of information (FOI) work, particularly beyond its current scope and into the sphere of local government.