BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong wants the Summer Capital to become the first Smart City in the country.

Magalong said the realization of the Smart City project will definitely help in significantly improving traffic management around the city, anti-criminality response, and timely disaster risk reduction response, among others.
He said the proposal of Metro Pacific Mobility Co. will still undergo the prescribed processes under the city’s Private Partnership for the People (P4) ordinance before the crafting of the final terms of reference that will be subjected to the required Swiss Challenge by companies capable and interested to implement the Smart City project in partnership with the city government.
Magalong said that the city does not have substantial funds to implement the desired project thus it is exploring all avenues to realize the plan.
He admitted that the funds earlier acquired by the city for the project are not sufficient that is why it is looking for a private partner to bankroll its completion.
Magalong said a private mobility company recently submitted a proposal to the city government for the implementation of the P2.2-billion Smart City project that will use artificial intelligence for contactless apprehension and traffic management, among others.
Former Transportation Undersecretary Mark Richmond de Leon, an executive of the Metro Pacific Mobility Co., a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., said that the company will install at least 220 high-definition cameras in strategic areas around the city to ensure the realization of the Smart City project.
De Leon said that the state-of-the art Smart City system will help the city government effectively and efficiently deal with traffic management and law enforcement among others that will guide policy makers and decision makers in crafting appropriate policies for the greater interest of city residents.
Earlier, the city government acquired some P200 million from the Office of the President to initially fund the development of a state-of-the-art command center as part of the government’s Smart City project using artificial intelligence.
Magalong said the proposal of the company is just one of the numerous unsolicited proposals that will be evaluated and assessed by the city government’s Public Private Partnership for the People Screening Committee (P4-SC) for possible implementation if it passes the stringent guidelines enshrined under the P4 Ordinance enacted in 2017.
The Smart City project will be integrated to the command center now being set up at the basement of the newly refurbished Baguio Convention Center.