IN THIS time and age, almost all political parties have an extensive databank of voters’ names that they color code according to whose party each voter belongs. They would spend millions to update this databank periodically.
Even before the election, the data can already reveal their level of confidence in winning. The same data becomes very crucial in deciding whose votes to buy and what sitio or barangay should they allocate their budget to ensure victory. Seasoned politicians and political parties don’t leave anything by chance. There is simply too much at stake.
After the elections, the same data becomes their basis of who to hire or tap in every project that they have in their pipeline. If your candidate did not win, you most likely have no chance of getting hired in said LGU. When the color of your name appears to be different with the sitting officials, they will make all kinds of excuses to delay whatever business you have in their agencies. It’s like getting cursed for at least 3 years. Such a rotten system and only the poor people who could not afford to look for greener pastures suffer the full gravity of such evil practice.
Ironically, while politicians rely so much on data during elections, most of them don’t seem to bring exactly the same concept in running their LGUs. If only each LGU would invest on data collection and use their insights gained from such data to manage resources and services, then no doubt each LGU would be very efficient.
In this time and age, with the presence of all gadgets and the internet, collecting data can be as simple as a click away provided that the LGU puts in place the appropriate electronic Internet of Things (IoT) to collect data. For example, if we install a traffic CCTV camera which can detect how heavy the traffic is, then in real time it can feedback to all commuters which roads to avoid either through a phone app or even through electronic generated text messages.
Such setup is called smart city, and it can cover not just traffic management but almost all aspects of our community life such as transportation systems, water supply, garbage collection, crime detection, schools, libraries, hospitals, government offices and all other community services.
It is high time that LGUs should invest on smart technologies. Some of these technologies that gather data and process them for use are not even expensive. One of the cities I engage in my consultancy uses electronic generated text messaging in reminding people of their traffic violations and acknowledging receipt of their payments for violations. Another city has this hourly text update on the water level of their river when heavy rains pour giving people ample time to pack their bags and evacuate should they have to.
We are already in the 21st century, and gathering data is no longer as hard as taking a census. All that an LGU has to do is to connect various physical devices such as our cellphones, TVs, radios, CCTVs, traffic lights, and early warning devices to a centralized IoT network so that the LGU can optimize their services to the people. It will save so much money both from the government and from the people if the public get their needed information right on time. Imagine a city where people would know where to buy the cheapest meat or the newly landed vegetables even before they go to the market. There are cities now where police assistance or request for ambulance is just a click of a button.
If politicians won because of how they used data gathered before the elections, then they should put premium in gathering data as well and establishing a smart city to better serve their constituents.