Belmonte-led QC Council project wins int’l award

Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte shows a page from the Batas QC App, which recently won an international award for delivering citizen-centric services. PHOTO FROM MAYOR JOY BELMONTE

MANILA, Philippines – The Quezon City local government’s mobile application for city ordinances, the Batas QC App, bagged an international award for “delivering citizen-centric services” through innovation and use of modern technology.

The Batas QC App is one of the recipients of the OpenGov Asia Excellence Award for Innovative and Disruptive Use of Technology in Delivering Citizen-centric Services and is the only local government initiative that received the award together with other national agencies.

Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, who led the Quezon City Council in passing the ordinance for the Batas QC App, expressed gratitude for the recognition saying that the award motivates the council more to implement innovative and radical measures in dealing with the different challenges in the city.

“This app is something that empowers us. It is something that makes the government transparent and, at the same time, makes people aware of their rights, the laws, and the corresponding consequences of their violations,” said Belmonte.

“Through this app, the people can easily refer to our ordinances without actually having to dig up the entire internet just to cite some provisions. They just have to download the app once, and they can already access all our laws in this database. That’s why it is a lot easier to search,” she added.

In November 2018, the Quezon City Council headed by Belmonte launched the Batas QC App in its bid to raise awareness about the city’s laws and counter ordinance violations, while providing accessibility and transparency as the app also features announcements, schedules, and infographics relevant to the city.

“Sa pamamagitan ng mga modernong pamamaraan tulad ng app na ito, simpleng bagay lang pero malaki ang maitutulong sa kampanya natin na ipaalam sa taumbayan ang ating mga programa. Gusto namin na ipagpatuloy pa ito at bumuo ng mga proyekto sa computerization at automation para mas madali na ang paghahanap ng mga dokumento at impormasyon sa ating lungsod,” said the vice mayor.

Other recipients of the award were the University of the Philippines, the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Tourism, Bureau of Customs (BoC) and Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The award was given at the Philippine OpenGov Leadership Forum held on April 25. /cbb