A two-day seminar for Kalahi-CIDSS regional staff on Geo-Tagging was held last March 31, 2014 at the Granda Manor Hotel, Tacloban City.

The “geo-tagging”, can be used by the staff to tag the location of the small infrastructure projects. The progress of the projects currently being constructed can also be followed using this system.

DSWD Field Office Eight Director, Nestor Ramos, said the project will help ensure project transparency, location identification, verification of projects, approval of proposed projects, progress supervision and operations and maintenance activities.

The term “geo-tagging” was coined to describe Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled devices such as smart phone, PC tablet and camera that are capable to receive satellite signals to determine the actual location where photo, audio, video and SMS where captured.

Geographical Information System Specialist, Renmel Ferrer of the Kalahi-CIDSS national office conducted the seminar to introduce, and provide technical assistance on the protocols and use of geo-tagging application for sub-project implementations of the region.

For completed Kalahi-CIDSS subprojects, it will help identify geographically the access, location and influence areas of completed subprojects. For proposed or on-going Kalahi-CIDSS subprojects, it will help to identify proposed or on-going subprojects that are within or near high risk sites. It will also help oversee the progress of implementing subprojects, document and monitor major activities in Community Empowerment Activity Cycle like barangay assemblies.

According to Ferrer, the said application is basically for data-sharing. The gathered data will be shared to Kalahi-CIDSS stakeholders through a web based Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping application, which will eventually overlay the geo-tagged data to existing GIS data sets of other poverty reduction programs of DSWD and of different national agencies.

The participants of the said seminar went to the municipality of Alang-Alang, Leyte to carry out and apply actual geo-tagging from the municipal hall down to the barangay with completed sub-projects like the construction of 181 meter drainage canal in Brgy. San Roque.