The 21st Davao City council on Tuesday, February 3, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance seeking to establish a centralized data center for all city government offices.
Councilor Bonz Andrei Militar, the ordinance’s proponent, said in a privileged speech that it seeks to establish a centralized center to host and safeguard the digital systems of all city offices.
“It will provide rules on data ownership, access, sharing, classification, retention, and disposal among city offices and will ensure privacy as it mandates strict compliance with Data Privacy Act of 2012 to protect our citizen’s information and will align with existing Davao City ICT and e-Governance ordinances. It will also prepare us for disaster as it will require clear plans when things go wrong,” Militar said.
He said that the ordinance is a step forward as the city moves further into the digital age and address to consolidate data from fragmented separate servers, databases and information systems of each departments.
“This fragmented set up is inefficient and risky,” Militar said, adding that the same setup exposes the local government to security vulnerabilities, duplication of ICT resources, and operational risks during emergencies.
Militar said that the consolidation of infrastructure is not just cost-efficient but sustainable as well.
“We will see better coordination between offices, stronger protection against hackers, and more dependable digital services for every Dabawenyo. Our goal is simple, to manage government data as a strategic public asset that is in line with the city’s long-term plan of a transparent, secure, and future-ready government,” he said. CIO
