A LAWMAKER here lobbied for the creation of a centralized data center for all departments, offices, attached agencies, and instrumentalities of the city government to safeguard digital information.
Councilor Bonz Andre Militar introduced the ordinance recognizing the lack of a central system and the inefficiency of the fragmented setup in the government processes.
“As we move further into the digital age, our city government relies more than ever on digital systems to serve the public, manage records, and run our daily operations,” Militar said in his privileged speech during the regular session on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The committee chair on information technology emphasized that the city’s data is disjointed as departments and offices maintain their own separate servers, databases, and information systems.
Militar noted the fragmented setup is “not just inefficient, it is risky,” leading to security vulnerabilities, wasted resources, and emergency risks.
He added that there is a higher risk of data breaches, system crashes, and even losing important government records.
The councilor also highlighted the duplication of ICT resources and a lack of coordination between offices.
Without central control, he said, the ability to keep essential public services running during natural disasters or cyberattacks is “seriously weakened.”
“The lack of clear rules, while we have some digital policies, we lack a specific, enforceable law that tells us exactly how our data should be protected and who is responsible for it,” he stressed.
The proposed ordinance will establish a centralized center to host and safeguard the digital systems of all city offices, including provisions on rules on data ownership, access, sharing, classification, retention, and disposal among city offices.
The measure ensures strict compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 to protect 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 for backups and disaster recovery so our services do not stop when things go wrong,” Militar said.
Militar added that the ordinance will improve accountability by giving the City Information Technology Center (CITC) and other responsible offices the authority to manage, supervise, audit, and enforce high standards across the board.
Noncompliance by responsible officials or offices will result in administrative penalties.
“Our goal is simple: to manage government data as a strategic public asset, which is in line with the city government’s long-term plan of a transparent, secure, and future-ready government,” the councilor stated.
