DOST Western Visayas launches New Washington in Aklan as first Smart and Sustainable Community Program proponent in Region

NEW Washington, Aklan- Science, technology, and innovation drive smarter and more sustainable communities in Western Visayas as the Department of Science and Technology Western Visayas (DOST Western Visayas), in partnership with the Local Government Unit of New Washington, officially launched the Municipality of New Washington as the first proponent of DOST’s Smart and Sustainable Communities Program (SSCP) in the region.

Through the SSCP, DOST aims to empower local governments with digital solutions, innovative systems thinking, and collaborative approaches that promote inclusive growth and long-term sustainability.

Among the initiatives of the program is the deployment of DOST Western Visayas-developed SmartGov and Barangay Infosystem for Development and Accountability (BIDA), e-governance systems that will help barangays and government offices to digitalize transactions, improve data management, and streamline office processes. These technologies are expected to enhance transparency and efficiency.

DOST Western Visayas will also assist in strengthening the agriculture sector through Project SARAI (Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines), which would equip farmers with access to smart and science-based tools for crop monitoring, pest and disease control, crop yield optimization.

Moreover, interventions in Disaster Risk and Reduction Management (DRRM) will be introduced through technologies such as the Strategic Incident Georeferencing for Nationwide Alertness (SIGNAL) and Bantay Panahon. These systems will help strengthen preparedness efforts by improving weather monitoring, hazard assessment, and emergency response coordination within the municipality.

Present at the activity were DOST Western Visayas Regional Director Engr. Rowen R. Gelonga and Assistant Regional Director for Technical Operations Keithlyn Sarah B. Bernardino; DOST Aklan Provincial Director Dyna Rose R. Gubatanga; and LGU New Washington Municipal Mayor Atty. Shimonette P. Francisco, Vice Mayor Jesus B. Quimpo, and Sangguniang Bayan (SB) members.

In his message, Director Gelonga emphasized that, ”As we embrace digital transformation and other new technologies, let us not also forget to really ensure that our development is sustainable… A truly smart municipality is one that embraces sustainable development.”
(VMMPoncedeLeon/DOST Aklan; Photos by: RDIMS)

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 (𝘋𝘖𝘚𝘛) 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘋𝘖𝘚𝘛 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚&𝘛 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵—𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰.

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