The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Department
of Science and Technology (DOST) in the Philippines are collaborating
in a program that aims to monitor the status and speed of implementation of
government projects, especially those with high value. The program has been
titled Project DIME, or "Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation.”
Various technologies developed and acquired by DOST, such as
the Open Roads Platform and
Geostore, and its expertise on data acquisition will be used in the program.
Examples of technologies that would be used include Light
Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), a remote-sensing technology that uses
laser light to create 3-D terrain maps. Airplanes and helicopters are the most
commonly used platforms for acquiring LIDAR data over broad areas. Satellites
and drones will also be used in the program to cover areas which cannot be
monitored through LIDAR.
In 2017, the two government agencies began an initial
monitoring of sample projects including Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR)’s National
Greening Program, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)’s National/Communal
Irrigation Systems, and the Department of Health (DOH)’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program.
Findings from the monitoring period enabled the DBM to
evaluate the status of the projects and to come up with a recommendation to
continue or discontinue the funding of a project as well as other actions for
the improvement of the project.
DBM has selected the programs and projects that will start
to be monitored through Project DIME.
These additions include:
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)'s construction/improvement of
access roads leading to seaports and airports (2018 funding- 6.2 billion Pesos; US$1= 52 Peso) - Department of Transportation (DoTR)'s North-South Commuter Railway (PNR
North) (2018 funding- 16.5 billion Pesos) - Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)'s Conditional Cash Transfer Program (2018
funding- 89.4 billion Pesos) - Department of Education (DepEd)’s
Basic Education Facilities (2018 funding- 105.9 billion Pesos) - Commission on Higher Education (CHED)'s
Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (2018 funding- 40 billion Pesos) - Department of National Defense (DND)'s AFP Modernization Program (2018
funding- 25 billion Pesos) - Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)'s Local Governance Performance
Management Program (2018 funding- 1 billion Pesos) - Department of Agriculture (DA)'s
Agricultural Machinery, Equipment, Facilities, and Infrastructures Program (2018
funding- 17 billion Pesos) - Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)'s Free Wi-Fi Internet Access Program (2018
funding- 1.7 billion Pesos) - Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources (DA-BFAR)'s National
Fisheries Program (2018 funding- 4.2 billion Pesos)
In addition to the above, monitoring of DOH’s Health
Facilities Enhancement Program, DENR's National Greening Program, and NIA's
National/Communal Irrigation Systems will also be continued.
Going forward, DBM will add other projects to be monitored,
such as those being implemented in disaster-prone areas.
Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno said, “Project
DIME will help ensure that every peso allocated to government programs and
projects will be used efficiently and effectively.”
