Quezon City drives transparency with open data dashboard, reporting app
The ‘QC Open Infra’ will publicly disclose details of the city’s infrastructure projects.
Philippines’ Quezon City is launching a suite of digital governance tools—including an open data dashboard and a citizen reporting app—as it expands its push toward data-driven and transparent public services.
A key upcoming initiative is the QC Open Infra Dashboard, City Mayor Ma. Josefina “Joy” Belmonte said during the 2026 GovMedia Summit in Makati Shangri-La, Manila.
The dashboard is designed to publicly disclose details of the city government’s infrastructure projects, from planning to payment, Belmonte said.
The platform will include data on schools, flood control systems, roads, and other public works, as well as accountability details such as project managers.
Alongside this, the city will roll out ‘Q Report,’ a mobile application that allows residents to submit incident reports, complaints, and feedback with photo or video uploads. “The system tracks reports until they are addressed.”
Belmonte said the app is modelled after a similar platform adopted by the governor of Bangkok, Thailand, to address low public trust, and is aimed at strengthening real-time accountability between citizens and the local government.
“Through this app, people can engage and interact with the government, and they can see the government at work right before their very eyes,” she added.
Quezon City is also expanding its use of artificial intelligence (AI). Current and planned applications include AI-driven incident detection through its CCTV network, and analytics for economic data and business activity.
The city operates a network of more than 2,500 CCTV cameras across over 1,000 strategic sites.
These initiatives build on the local government unit’s (LGU) broader digital transformation strategy, which Belmonte said goes beyond simply converting services online.
At present, the city operates a unified platform—QC eServices—that consolidates 241 services across 34 programmes under a single login, covering transactions ranging from business permits and tax payments to healthcare access, scholarships, and social services.
“Parallel to this is our QC Citizen ID, a unified identification system. Each cardholder receives a unique ID number that indicates whether they are a resident, worker, or student of Quezon City,” Belmonte said.
“With this, we now have a comprehensive record of every sector in our population,” she added.
Digitalisation has also been applied to business processes.
Belmonte said 100% of permit applications have been processed online since January 2022, with new permits issued in under one day and renewals completed in 10 seconds.
The local government has also implemented systems to curb inefficiencies and corruption in project execution.
Its infrastructure monitoring platform requires contractors to submit geotagged progress reports, with payments released only after verification.
“We kill overpricing before it even happens,” Belmonte said.
Meanwhile, she added that digital systems alone are not sufficient to improve governance outcomes. “What makes a difference is when the people running these systems genuinely believe that every citizen matters.”
