La Trinidad eyes smart municipality status

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — The municipal government of La Trinidad has formalized its digitalization and modernization program to transition into a smart municipality.

Under Administrative Order 38, Series of 2026, signed by Mayor Roderick Awingan, the La Trinidad Smart Program consolidates digital, ecological, and governance initiatives into a unified framework.

The initiative focuses on sustainable, modern, accountable, responsive and transparent governance to address challenges in traffic management, environmental protection, agricultural trade, disaster risk reduction and public service delivery.

The policy aims to overhaul traditional paper-based processes by integrating cloud and database systems into a comprehensive e-governance platform.

Key components for digital public services include an electronic civil registry, a municipal tax mapping system, and paperless internal document management.

To bolster agriculture and local commerce, the program introduces the digitalization of the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post and Logistics Hub, an online agricultural market for direct-to-consumer trade, and financial inclusion support for local farmers.

Other focus areas include infrastructure, connectivity, mobility, climate resilience, citizen engagement and public safety.

As part of its security and emergency framework, the municipality will establish the La Trinidad Surveillance, Information and Communication Emergency Operations Center.

Operating 24/7 under the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the center will coordinate local surveillance, emergency hotlines, police responses and first responder actions.

To supervise implementation, the order establishes a task force led by Municipal Administrator Franco Bawang Jr. as chairperson, with Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator Vicente Perez Jr. serving as co-chairperson alongside department representatives.