DOST, police tap apps for underserved public

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Metro Manila police have begun to tap digital applications to help reach the public safely and conveniently.

During the DOST’s “Handa Pilipinas” exhibit on Wednesday, Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. highlighted four new digital applications that the agency developed to unify information about the risks, exposure and vulnerabilities of local governments.

Also on Wednesday, the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) launched a new mobile application, called “SAFE NCRPO app alert,” that allows the public to quickly report to the NCRPO tactical operation center any crime or problem that requires police assistance.This application does not require internet connection because alerts are deployed through messaging signals. It is also provided with unlimited text load from telecommunication providers.

Whenever a user reports an incident through the app, an alert will be transmitted to the command center which will then be conveyed to the nearest police patrolling in the area reported.

The DOST’s four other applications, on the other hand, are called Hazard Hunter, GeoMapperPH, PlanSmart and VolcanoPH and are all available on Google Play or on the DOST’s website.

Solidum said the DOST sought to create a nationally consistent database of the different risks local governments face—earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and other disasters—and developed applications that would process data-driven information relevant to disaster risk reduction and management planning.

At the heart of this is the GeoMapperPH, which was designed to access and contribute local-level disaster data and includes real-time data updates and analytics.

HazardHunter, VolcanoPH and PlanSmart use data from the GeoMapperPH to generate disaster assessment reports for their users.

PlanSmart allows local government units to access and process data-driven information relevant to disaster planning, and automates the formulation of their rehabilitation and recovery plans faster. INQ

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