The Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) of the Philippines had recently awarded the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for using science as a way to prevent corruption.
According to a recent press release, the silver award was received by both DOST and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for their collaborative venture called Project DIME which stands for Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation.
As reported, the two government agencies collaborated for this program in order to monitor the status and speed of implementation of government projects, especially those with high-value.
What is Project DIME?
Project DIME is a corruption prevention tool that made the government’s transparency and accountability efforts more efficient.
It enabled the government to efficiently monitor the status, financing, and implementation of big-ticket projects.
Various existing technologies and expertise on data acquisition developed and acquired by DOST are being used in the program.
These technologies include Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), Open Roads Platform and Geostore, and Geotagging.
Moreover, satellites and drones are being used to cover areas that cannot be monitored with LiDAR.
The aforementioned technologies were utilised in order to monitor the projects, particularly those that are being conducted in far-flung areas, making physical inspection difficult or complicated.
Monitored Projects
In 2017, both agencies began an initial monitoring of sample projects that include:
- Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health (DOH)
- National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
- National/Communal Irrigation Systems of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)
Aside from these three, the DBM has also selected additional programs and projects to be monitored by Project DIME. These are:
- Construction/Improvement of Access Roads leading to Seaports and Airports of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
- North-South Commuter Railway (PNR North) of the Department of Transportation (DOTr)
- Conditional Cash Transfer Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
- Basic Education Facilities of the Department of Education (DepEd)
- Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
- AFP Modernisation Program of the Department of National Defence (DND)
- Local Governance Performance Management Program of the of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
- Agricultural Machinery, Equipment, Facilities and Infrastructures Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA)
- Free Wi-Fi Internet Access of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
- National Fisheries Program of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR)
Go or No
The DBM can evaluate the project status and make recommendations on whether to continue or discontinue project funding, or take other actions to improve the project based on the data from the tool.
The distinction was among the one-year-old PACC’s efforts in recognising and awarding government agencies for their programs and activities that fight graft and corruption in the bureaucracy.
