Local telco Globe Telecom announced it has hammered out a partnership with the Cauayan City government to deliver world-class Internet services, as well as create a digital cashless ecosystem, which will be undertaken through GCash.
The tie-up involves the deployment of an integrated network plan to improve mobile coverage and provide high-speed Internet service in the city.
The rollout forms part of Globe?s One Digital City initiative, intended to expand network coverage and enhance capacities, particularly for fixed-line.
“We are grateful for the support that the Cauayan city government extended to Globe and we hope to replicate this partnership in other areas in the country,” Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu said.
As part of using technology for governance, GCash, the mobile money platform of Globe, and Cauayan City have embarked on a pioneer initiative to implement the co-branded Citizen ID cards initially for 5,000 government employees and constituents to provide access to social and financial services.
Eventually, the IDs will be rolled-out to all 130,000 constituents of the city.
The Citizen ID may be used to electronically pay government fees and taxes, utilities, and other bills electronically and purchases from local merchants.
It may also be tapped for disbursement of salaries, stipends, allowances and other benefits to citizens, government employees and volunteers; and in the provision of Fuse loans for sustainable livelihood development programs for micro and small and medium enterprises.
Enabling e-payments will help increase access to social and financial services for citizens, reduce opportunity cost lost in cash handling, and tighten security of funds and transparency in government transactions, the company said.
The ICT initiatives are part of the Cauayan City’s goal of becoming a full-fledged digitally enabled city. It announced the selection of Globe as its main partner for the project in August 2015.
Cauayan has also been declared by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as the first “smarter city” in the country.
