The City of Baguio has expanded its partnership with worldwide technology leader Cisco to equip personnel in its smart city command center with technical training to drive more efficient emergency response and disaster resilience for the city through Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration Program in the Philippines, UGNAYAN 2030.
In partnership with technology solutions provider Quantela, Cisco conducted its Center of Excellence Training Capability Program to ensure that both IT professionals and non-IT personnel in Baguio City’s Smart City Command Center were equipped to operate and maximize the full use of the command center.
This consisted of a 2-week training conducted on-site at Baguio’s Smart City Command Center, which engaged personnel across the city’s public sector agencies, such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO). Through the program, they have been able to more effectively use the platform to assess security risks and emergencies, provide up-to-date information to citizens on city services on the “Baguio in my pocket” application, and track and resolve help requests submitted by citizens.
Apart from training, Cisco invested in resources to build a simulated environment for the command center, deployed by its partner Quantela, to enable developers to experiment with new technologies, application integrations, configurations, and features.
This environment has helped city personnel to test out how smart city applications or systems work under different scenarios, measure response times, and identify any bottlenecks before the systems are put into action. It also facilitates simultaneous collaboration among team members, allowing them to provide feedback, review changes, and suggest improvements for different project streams running in real-time. All smart city use-cases that are operational in Baguio City today have been tested on this platform.
Zaza Soriano-Nicart, Managing Director of Cisco Philippines said, “Transforming a city, like transforming a business, requires investment in people, processes, and technology. Our close partnership with Mayor Benjamin Magalong to design a holistic upskilling blueprint for the Smart City Command Center personnel is integral to the vast improvements we see in the urbanized city of Baguio today. We are thrilled to see the progress that the team has made and how it has enabled them to better meet the needs of citizens.”
“We envision Baguio City to become a Smart City by 2027, and we are making sure to capacitate our personnel with the new technology at hand,” Mayor Magalong shared.
Cisco’s training program for Baguio’s diverse team of Command Center operators, government administrators, and representatives from its public sector agencies has resulted in notable improvements on two fronts.
- Connected infrastructure for smart city security
The City of Baguio has been able to better understand and visualize available city resources through the command center to make faster, informed decisions on where to deploy personnel to address critical security and crime incidents.
The platform has also empowered greater citizen participation in keeping the city safe. “We have our Baguio in My Pocket App which makes reporting any incident more convenient to the public. Our response time is quick. We can act on a complaint in under 3 minutes,” said Mayor Magalong.
- Unified response strategy to city emergencies and disaster prevention
Cisco-trained personnel are now able to analyze inbound data flowing through the command center’s dashboard from the city’s geographic information systems (GIS) to identify potential city emergencies and natural disasters.
For example, the local government has been able to map out fault lines, sinkholes, and flood-prone areas relative to health and evacuation centers, enabling officials to make faster and more informed decisions in times of crisis.
On the back of the training, smart city personnel developed a comprehensive inventory of all available emergency and disaster tools in the GIS, updated in real-time with collaboration from the Emergency Medical Services Office (EMS), the Department of Fire Protection (DFP), and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
“Our decision to transform into a Smart City is aligned with our vision of a smart, green, and sustainable city with the ultimate goal of improving the urban quality of life. It helps us become more efficient in delivering government services to the people, especially to those who need them most,” Mayor Magalong noted. “Empowering Baguio City with the right skills and resources to navigate their digital shift not only allows the local government to carry out their mandate holistically but also elevates the way of life for its citizens and tourists,” Soriano-Nicart underscored. “All these are in line with Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all, as we bridge the digital divide one city at a time.”
