Existing information and data sources

The effects of various hazards in the Philippines including typhoons,

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and many other else prompted the
Philippine government to launch programs focusing on disaster prevention
and mitigation. One of the most successful efforts of the government in this
endeavor is a project entitled Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards
(NOAH) which was launched by the Department of Science and Technology
(DOST). The project started as a warning agency that would provide 6 hour
lead-time warning to vulnerable communities against impending floods. Also,
the agency was tasked to use advanced technology in enhancing currently
available geo-hazard vulnerability maps. These two main responsibilities
expanded to various programs such as DREAM-LIDAR 3D mapping and
Enhancing Geohazard Mapping through LIDAR and High-resolution Imagery.
Another project that focuses on providing data is the Philippine Geoportal
Project sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources (DENR). This
project advocates the countrys One Nation One Map advocacy that
promotes a common multi-scale basemap. This project is essential as it
allows participation of all the stakeholders in terms of providing location and
attribute information. Through its website, public and private sectors can
access geospatial data and services. Philippine Geoportal Project has two
main features that largely benefit the public. First, it consolidates all maps
and unifies them into one similar format or base. Second, it opens all data
gathered to institutions for their strategic planning, decision making,
situational analysis and many others.
Options for data collection
One example of a good system for data collection is the Community-Based
Monitoring System (CBMS). Under this system, data collection and
processing happens at the local level. As a result, the data gathered are
integrated in the planning, program implementation and impact monitoring
in the local level. Such system is laudable for promoting an evidence-based
policymaking and program implementation that empowers communities
through their involvement and participation.
To do this system, the local government unit first chooses a specific activity
that is most needed to be carried out. All instruments and modules on data
collection, data processing for generation of standard indicators, tables and
digitized poverty maps are then freely provided by the CBMS International
Network Coordinating Team (INCT). In the level of the LGUs, technical
assistance on the use of the CBMS tools is given by the trainers from the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as well as the CBMS
INCT.
Another data collection system is the Local Governance Performance
Management System (LGPMS) under the Department of the Interior and

Local Government (DILG). LGPMS acts as a tool specifically for the provincial,
city, and municipal governments to examine their own capabilities and
limitations in terms of delivering public service to their constituents. This
system emphasizes the contribution of the local government units (LGUs) in
the formulation and assessment of essential policies in the country.
The data supplied by the provincial and the municipal governments are
uploaded into the web-based LPGMS database. They are then converted by
software into performance levels ranging from 1 to 5. All the data gathered
from the LGUs are then used to serve three purposes namely, to develop
local governments though the improving the use of their financial and human
resources, to serve as a benchmark of local government performance against
existing standards, and lastly to update policy-makers in the national level
about the state of development in LGUs.