"Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts
and of sciences."
Freeman John Dyson
English-born American, Theoretical
Have you ever been amazed how technology had so vividly reduced the globe into pocket-sized images? For those who are avid Google Earth users, the sight of the Earth from the stratosphere is always an exhilarating experience. The feeling of full control over your personal “spaceship”, simulated convincingly by GIS software, makes the experience even more exciting.
Bulacan has been fortunate enough to have a visionary leader, in the person of former Governor Josie Dela Cruz who was privy to the immense advantages and power of Geographical Information System or GIS technology. As far back as year 2002, hers was a vision for greater efficiency in government operations through the imaging technology provided by satellite-based GI applications.
Governor Josie’s vision then was nothing less than prophetic as this spawned the
The 1st Provincewide GIS Project in the Country
March 15, 2002 marked Bulacan’s foray into GIS technology when Governor Dela Cruz and the province’s 24 mayors agreed to implement the Satellite-Based GIS Project with tech provider, Geo-Surveys and Mapping, Inc. The project included the establishment of a GIS center, and the procurement of satellite images of the entire province.
The Satellite-based GIS uses images taken by the commercial earth observation satellite, IKONOS. These are the same images utilized by today’s Google Earth application. The difference is that resolution is… (Arlene, can you please help me detail how our gis differs from that of the internet available technology like google earth)…… and it can be manipulated….
Having been department head of the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) for two years, before being appointed Administrator, I realized how vital accurate information is to development planning. I soon understood that if technology could make possible a “bird’s eyeview” of the province and its towns, the implications would be nothing less than monumental.
I took the task of being part of the group responsible for lobbying for the appreciation and approval of the SBGIS project in all of Bulacan’s 24 towns, as a personal commitment to see the project through to completion. It was not an easy task, to say the least, especially because of the natural resistance of most local leaders to the budding technology culture of the Provincial Capitol.
Even service providers of the specific technology we needed to realize the SBGIS project then were quite scarce. It also took numerous extended sessions for the SBGIS committee to finally agree on the terms of references and details of the project. We only knew one thing for sure then—we need the technology to modernize development planning and the vital services than are dependent on precise geographical information. With this shared mindset, we scouted for the best providers and nailed the best deal for the province.
The
E-fficient Public Service
The Satellite-based GIS System of Bulacan is designed to enhance critical services in real property and tax mapping, assist local governments in tracking information for permits and licences and to aid the provincial local chief executive in both resource and political mapping.
The system now boasts of 3 applications—the GIS-enhanced Real Property and Tax Information System (GRPTIS), the GIS-enhanced Mayors’ Permit and Licensing Information System (GMPLIS) and the Executive Information System (EIS). All three systems maximize the use of IKONOS satellite images for spatial analysis of information.
Satellite technology has been very useful in improving real property tracking and tax mapping and transactions through the GRPTIS. It facilitates a more accurate consolidation of land parcels and simple subdivision, while providing access to and storage of an updatable real property tax database, including textual and graphical information in the form of map images, land parcel maps and vector layers which can be easily interpreted.
The GRPTIS is envisioned to provide the Provincial Assessor’s Office with a front-desk interface—a distant departure from paper-heavy operations that use to weigh down efficiency and accurate results in the assessment of real property value.
Since GIS technology can track topographical changes, it aids local executives in accurately monitoring local physical resources and draw information vis-à-vis social, economic and political data within their jurisdiction. These advantages proved useful in enhancing the issuances of business permits and licenses in the participating municipalities using the GIS-enhanced Mayors’ Permit and Licensing Information System (GMPLIS) and the Executive Information System (EIS).
Mapping Politics
The EIS is especially customized to facilitate the processing of information relating to the province’s socio-economic profile and data required in designing the Provincial Physical Framework Plan. It also gives the Governor a way to accurately track resources used for assistance and support to his constituents. The output enables the chief executive to rationalize the distribution of resources and avoid the over-concentration of resources in any part of the province.
Even political mapping—a handy tool for political monitoring and management is provided by the EIS which provides data on political affiliations of municipal and barangay officials, the frequency of visits and even voters’ participation and election results.
Fast Forward to the Future
In the works are three equally important GIS-based systems. In the pipeline is a Road Management and Monitoring Information System (RMMIS), a GIS Community-Based Monitoring System (G-CBMS) and an Ecological Profile of the province.
With a comprehensive and integrated GIS network, the
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