Deputy Speaker and Cebu 3rd District Rep. Pablo John Garcia has proposed the creation of a developmental standardization and incentivization framework for the establishment of Smart Cities and Municipalities nationwide.

He cited the need for the government to harmoniously employ reliable smart technologies to establish energy-efficient, clean, free-flowing, and safe cities and municipalities nationwide while respecting local autonomy, data security, personal privacy, and a balanced and healthful ecology.

“Even today, pollution , poor infrastructure access, low mobility, inadequate utilities, health and safety concerns are just some of the issues faced by many Filipinos living in dense metropolitan areas,” Garcia said.

“As populations increase, land areas remain the same and it takes time for resources, social services, and infrastructure to catch up. Efforts must be undertaken at the earliest possible time to ensure a good quality of life for all Filipinos,” he said.

Garcia filed House Bill No. 8201, the proposed “Smart Cities and Municipalities Act,” seeking to employ the proper application of technology to address such concerns.

“It aims to create a developmental, standardisation, and incentivization framework for local government units to spur the creation of Smart Cities nationwide—while respecting the principle of local autonomy,” he said.

He said his bill seeks to establish a Council for Smart Cities, which will serve as the overall policy-making and implementing body of the proposed Act. The Council shall be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“It is tasked to create an Action Plan, a Resource Guide, and other activities such as providing technical support and the development of a workforce to achieve its aims,” he said.

According to the House leader, HB 8201 defines standards and criteria which the Council shall aim to champion nationwide.

“These criteria shall also form the basis for an incentivization program called Smart Innovation and City Acceleration Program or SICAP. These dimensions and their descriptions, as well as their indicators, were taken from a well-studied conceptual model of the IESE Business School,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s bill also calls for the creation of a special account in the General Appropriations Act called the SICAP Incentive Fund which shall be used to pay out the incentives granted to LGUs exhibiting excellence with regard to Smart City technologies and practices.

Under HB 8201, the SICAP Incentive Fund shall have an allocation of P1-billion revolving fund starting from the effectivity of the proposed Act.

HB 8201 also aims to put the focus on technological innovation in urban areas given that the other factors are inflexible if not invariable like land, Garcia said.

“It is hoped that the stimulation of Smart Cities and Municipalities, in combination with other social and governmental efforts, will make Filipino metropolitan centers livable, safe, clean, and happy places to live in,” he said.

Under the measure, starting from Fiscal Year 2022, each city and municipality is mandated to set aside not less than five percent of its estimated internal revenue allotment to support Smart City and Municipalities initiatives under a fund that shall be known as the Local Smart City Fund (LSCF) or Local Smart Municipality Fund (LSMF).