CEBU CITY was a big winner during the 2018 Digital Cities Philippines (DCP) Awards Night.

Some 65 projects from 36 local government units (LGUs) were recognized as nominees for six categories. Cebu was the only city that took home two grand awards last Oct. 12 in Manila.

It bagged the Best Data Driven Governance (D2G) award for its Geo-hazard mapping information system and the Best in e-Government Systems for Global Competitiveness (G2W) award for its Cebu business application and online analytics.

The D2G category cites the efforts of an LGU in recognizing that good governance through ICT goes hand-in-hand with fair and responsible processing of data.

The G2W category, on the other hand, cites the efforts of an LGU in developing world-class systems in using ICT that are at par with international or internationally – recognized standards, making the LGU globally competitive, recognized, and virtually accessible and interactive.

Cebu Province, meanwhile, won the grand prize for Best in e-Government Business Empowerment (G2B) for its Smart Utilities for Government Business Operations (Sugbo) Program.

This category awards the significant effect of an LGU’s laudable practices in integrating ICT solutions and the commitment of its administration in the LGU’s responsiveness to the needs of business enterprises, creating business opportunities.

The Province also won third place for Best in e-Government for Government Inter-Operability (G2G) award for its Cebu Province Health Office (CPHO) Teams.

This category awards the valuable impact of an LGU’s initiative to connect data and systems with other government offices, both national and local, for the convenience of its constituents and to improve its public service delivery.

Cebu IT-BPM (information technology-business process management) Organization (Cib.O) managing director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr. welcomed these recognition, saying these will strengthen Cebu’s image as an “innovation island.” He said these show Cebu is continuously innovating and maximizing the use of technology to deliver efficient and effective services in a more transparent manner.

“These awards show that Cebu City has always been and continues to be a front-runner in the use of technology tools and solutions to make it a better and competitive city,” said Sa-a.

“It also reflects our local government’s commitment on the use of technology in a very productive manner to make our lives better,” he added.

Sa-a hopes these will score more points for Cebu, as it strives to regain its position in the top 10 of Tholons Top 100 Super Cities list. “We hope this will further build Cebu’s image,” he said.

This year, Cebu improved one notch in the list of Top 100 Super Cities released by Tholons. From its 12th ranking last year, Cebu City rose to the 11th spot in the 2018 Tholons Services Globalization Index.