With the recognition as one of the 25 Digital Cities by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), and Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), the City Government of San Fernando is set to be an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub in the country as businesses and innovation centers will be built resulting to the generation of more jobs and economic opportunities.

Mr. Hipolito Palaganas, DICT Provincial Officer of La Union officially handed the Certificate of Recognition to City Mayor Alf Ortega last Friday, September 4, 2020, at the Office of the City Mayor, City Hall. Present in the awarding are City Vice Mayor Chary Nisce, and City Councilor Luzan Valero, Committee Chairperson on Information and Communications Technology.

The “Digital Cities 2025” is intended to drive inclusive growth in the countryside by selecting high-potential locations throughout the Philippines and transforming them into bustling IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) hubs within five years.

This program is supported by the national government’s “Accelerating Rural Progress Through Robust Development of Special Economic Zones in the Countryside” and the “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program.” Both programs help disperse development and opportunities to rural areas and decongest major cities of the country.

A significant step toward the City’s vision of becoming a Smart City by 2025, the City Government hopes that San Fernando will become part of the country’s Next Wave Cities- a higher recognized group of ICT investment hub.

DICT conducts various programs in partnership with the City Government through the City ICT Section, and the City ICT Council headed by Mr. Edgee Don Zarsadias to further mobilize the City’s readiness and development in the coming years. According to Mr. Palaganas, an incubation Rural Impact Sourcing (RIS) Hub for La Union and Pangasinan is also set to be established in support of the Digital Cities. An essential component of ICT development is the establishment of support infrastructures. By 2021, DICT is targeting to activate SECURE GovNet Project- an international collaboration project aiming to provide free internet usage in the country through a partnership with Facebook. For the said project, the City of San Fernando, alongside Baler in Aurora, are the two (2) identified international undersea cable landing areas in the Philippines.

Through the spirit of #SanFernandoAyayatenKa, the City Government of San Fernando will never cease to create innovative solutions for the people’s benefit.

(Story by Jeddahn Rosario and Shairalene Guerrero)
(Photos by Shairalene Guerrero)