The City of Makati is the only city in the Philippines chosen as finalist for World Smart Cities Awards to be held in Spain next month.
The awarding will be presented by the Smart City Expo World Congress on Nov. 20 at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via, one of the largest fair venues in Europe.
Mayor Abigail Binay said Makati was the only local government unit from the Philippines invited to present its project entry titled “Use of technology to improve city disaster preparedness and communication to and from city citizens” during the awarding ceremony.
“Makati City is proud to have the opportunity to represent our country at a global event that features the best practices of smart cities around the world to promote the sustainable development of cities,” said Binay.
The city chief executive said the event organizers had informed her that Makati had been selected as a finalist in the Innovative Idea category of the awards.
“We have gladly accepted the invitation, and we look forward to having a meaningful exchange of ideas and experiences with fellow advocates of sustainability and inclusivity from other parts of the globe. We are also eager to explore avenues for international collaboration, particularly with cities, academic institutions and corporate leaders that share the vision of thriving, future-proof cities worldwide,” she said.
According to its website, the annual Smart City Expo World Congress, which started in 2011, is the meeting point for companies, public sector, startups, academia and citizens working together for the sustainable development of cities.
With the theme, “Cities Made of Dreams”, this year’s congress will focus on five main tracks, namely, Digital Transformation, Urban Environment, Mobility, Governance and Finance, and Inclusive and Sharing Cities.
Last month, Binay was also the only Filipino presenter at the International Urban Resilience Forum in Seoul, Korea, co-hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The forum aimed to provide a venue for local government units across the globe to share their DRRM best practices.
The participants included mayors, governors, executives in disaster management, professors, academics, disaster experts, and urban planning specialists.
Binay presented the city’s disaster management plans and strategies, which are focused on the following main objectives: Reduce disaster-related mortality and injuries; minimize the number of affected people; Reduce direct disaster economic loss; and Minimize damage to infrastructure and disruption of basic services.
She also emphasized that Makati was the third in the world and the first in the Philippines to have formulated its Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan, which contains the city’s policies and activities from pre-disaster to post-disaster phases, including vital mechanisms and systems to be pre-positioned for smoother and faster recovery.
At the start of her term in mid-2016, Binay vowed to continuously build the city’s resilience in line with her vision of a “smart city” with sustainable and resilient communities.
To date, the city has purchased 141 DRRM vehicles to improve the response time and capabilities of police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders.
The city has also installed 136 automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in public schools and the City Hall and 307 CCTV cameras, which are being monitored by Makati C3 (Command Control and Communications Center).
Over 500 emergency go bags have been distributed to families living in the five-meter buffer zone of the West Valley Fault, while 92,802 bags and 25,466 hard hats have been distributed to public school students in the city.