BALON Dagupan adds another feather to its cap, this time in recognition of the strides it has taken as a smart city.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) cited Dagupan City as one of 11 selected cities and municipalities in the entire country that best represents sustainable, smart and resilient cities.

As the only representative of the region, the city will be asked to exhibit its innovations and best practices during the conduct of DOST’s National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) which will be held next month.

Dagupan City has been making significant progress and development as a resilient city. It has implemented many innovations in its disaster management and emergency response measures. One of these include the city’s Public Alert and Response Monitoring Center (PARMC).

Through the initiatives of Mayor Belen T. Fernandez, PARMC was established to complement the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) as a monitoring body tasked to  disseminate information to the city’s constituents in the events of hazards and calamities.

PARMC is equipped with two tsunami early warning systems (TEWS) developed by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to boost the city’s tsunami alert system.

The city also acquired an earthquake intensity meter capable of perceiving movements and shaking during or after the event of an earthquake. The device was provided free of charge by Phivolcs in partnership with the government of Japan through a memorandum of agreement with the city.

With such facilities, PARMC was able to monitor storm surges, flooding, earthquake and tsunami threats. It is also able to monitor the traffic management and security in the city.

The city has established the Emergency 16911 emergency hotline, privately-hosted evacuation centers and purchased equipment and vehicles to augment emergency response and rescue operations in the city.

The city also upgraded its command center to improve its traffic management and response system. It is now equipped with 8 LED panels with sound systems to boost the 28 CCTV cameras installed in the city’s major thoroughfares.

The city is set to introduce a new and sustainable solution to its 50-year waste management problem with the Waste to Worth project. The soon-to-be constructed waste facility will convert plastic wastes into diesel fuel and food wastes into methane gas for cooking, lighting, among others.

The facility, the third only in the country, will be built by Sure Global at no cost to the city.

These, were realized through the initiatives of Mayor Fernandez.

DOST-ICTO also named Dagupan as one of the ten ‘next wave’ cities in the country in 2016. It identifies the city as one of the top locations in local and international IT-BPM players. (CIO/VDV)

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