“Pasig City will be a smart city,” remarked Vice Mayor Robert “Dodot” Jaworski Jr. as he and the rest of the Pasig City Council visited the Smart City Command Center in Baguio City as part of both local governments’ benchmarking activities on Oct. 24 to Oct. 25.

Jaworski and city councilors met with City Engineer Philip Puzon who shared his expertise and showcased Baguio’s best practices in relation to its smart command center.

In his social media page, Jaworski shared their fruitful experience learning about the various components of the command center such as the integrated and video management system, geographical information system, and big data analytics.

The center functions as the main communication platform of local government operations that can conduct computer-aided dispatch, and facilitate mobility and traffic signalization, as well as aid in creating technologically-advanced environments, methods of governance, and health systems.

The command center was first launched by the Baguio City government last Sept. 10, funded through the P200 million financial assistance provided to Baguio by the national government.

These have enabled the Baguio local government to respond faster and more efficiently in times of disasters and crises, Jaworksi said.

This use of technology has also helped law enforcement in addressing crime in the city.

The vice mayor expressed the city council’s aim of helping to transform Pasig into a “data-driven and technologically-able” city in Metro Manila.

City Councilor Quin Cruz also said the “Smart Pasig City” plan is aligned with the vision of Mayor Vico Sotto in paving the path “towards data-driven policies, sustainable development and inclusive innovations.”

During their benchmarking trip to the “City of Pines,” Jaworski and the city councilors also visited the cultural hotspots in Baguio to learn about their arts and culture promotion and preservation practices.

They learned about management and preservation of cultural treasures that they can apply to Pasig’s own cultural mapping projects.

They were also shown how the local government conducts the flow of traffic and provides transportation for tourists in Baguio’s famous cultural destinations.

“Mayaman sa kasaysayan at sining ang Baguio at isa ito sa kanilang bentahe bilang lungsod. Nais nating paunlarin rin ang sektor na ito sa Pasig. Papaunlarin at bibigyang espasyo ang ating mga local artists para mahubog pa ang kanilang sining at marketability (Baguio’s rich history and culture is one of the city’s main selling points. We wish to also nurture our arts and culture sectors in Pasig. We will give spaces to our local artists to help them develop their craft and marketability),” Jaworski said.

Other benchmarking activities made in the two-day trip included a visit to the Harevst Creative CommUNITY Hub located at the Botanical Garden, wherein caretakers shared how they sustained their livelihood programs through urban agriculture, and to the Baguio Public Market.

The Pasig officials also made a courtesy call to Baguio City Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan at the city hall.