Having been declared as one of the country’s 25 Digital Cities early this year, the City of San Fernando, together with the other digital cities were convened by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) through a virtual meeting yesterday, August 26, 2020, to discuss the initial steps and the strategy moving forward onwards countryside development through ICT.

Present in the meeting were City Mayor Alf Ortega, Sangguniang Panlungsod Information Technology Committee Chairperson Hon. Luzan Valero, City Information Technology Officer II Germie Deang, Local Economic and Business Development Office Head Rizalyn Medrano and Mr. Edgee Don Zarsiadas, Chairman of the City Information and Communications Technology Council.

As a basis for the department’s plans, Ms. Emmy Lou Delfin of the DICT-ICT Industry Development Bureau presented the Digital Cities Framework, which lays out the specific objectives and areas of development that lead to the overall economic growth of the city and the country as well.To ensure the alignment of the identified digital cities, DICT, in partnership with the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), plans to conduct individual Strategic Planning Workshops with the digital cities in September and identify the specific direction that fits each locality’s needs and priorities. To support this, the DICT will be providing the necessary interventions such as the strengthening of Public-Private Partnerships, talent upskilling, SMEs growth and start-ups, infrastructure development as well as employment generation through Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM).

Moreover, the City of San Fernando, along with other cities, also received its formal recognition as part of the Digital Cities 2025 program. With ICT as one of its identified strengths in governance, the City Government believes that this development shall boost its efforts towards becoming a SMART City by 2025.

Through governance innovation and modernization, the City Government of San Fernando shall continue to improve the quality of life of its people for a #SanFernandoAyatenKa.