Baguio taps app for vaccine drive

BAGUIO CITY—The city government will use a software it has developed to help build a registry for people who will be inoculated against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), officials said.

But the Baguio in My Pocket (BIMP) mobile phone application has drawn criticisms due to reports claiming that it will deprive some residents access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Residents and government employees are also required to sign up with the BIMP before they enter City Hall to transact with the local government. Some have been told that without a quick response (QR) code that authenticates their BIMP registration, they may not have access to the vaccines secured by Baguio.

Felipe Puzon, chief of staff of Mayor Benjamin Magalong, stressed, however, that no one would be excluded from the vaccination drive.

During Monday’s city council session, he said the mayor had been encouraging all residents to acquire the BIMP QR code to get priority in the vaccination program.

Easier process

The BIMP is integrating all information about residents to help refine the selection for the vaccine rollout, said Puzon, who also heads the city’s information technology division. As of Monday, some 48,000 residents had registered with the app.

“It would be easier for the vaccination process,” Puzon told the council, noting that the data the BIMP would collect would be incorporated in the immunization registry required by the Department of Health.

The app was initially designed for Baguio’s automation services so government transactions could be undertaken online and also considered valuable in the city’s contract tracing process. But councilors were skeptical about the security set in place to store residents’ data.

Puzon said the city government had installed a P4-million firewall for its automation system and was building a data farm worth P60 million. —VINCENT CABREZA INQ