The Maasin City government in Southern Leyte has received PHP500,000 in assistance from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to digitalize local government services.

DOST Eastern Visayas Regional Director Ernesto Granada said in a phone interview Thursday they handed over the assistance to Mayor Nacional Mercado to carry out the “Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Ecosystem Development Toward Smart and Sustainable Maasin City” project.

“This fund will jumpstart the development of the STI Ecosystem of Maasin City towards a smart and sustainable future for the people of Maasin,” Granada told the Philippine News Agency.

The project, Mercado said, will focus on the formulation and installation of an appropriate digital infrastructure platform to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and transparency of local government services.

“This will surely lay a strong foundation for the local government of Maasin’s transformation into a smarter and more sustainable city through a comprehensive review of existing systems, the development of a robust information strategic system planning and roadmap for the city, and capacity building,” Mercado said in a statement.

Maasin’s Smart City project has three components – benchmarking and best practices research; systems review and development of five-year information system strategic plan; and capacity building and training needs.

Smart City, according to the DOST, is a technologically modern urban area that uses different types of electronic methods to collect and improve services. (PNA)