Government should create a “digital map” of government projects and programs that will be implemented next year, to include “livestreaming” of big-ticket public works projects.

“Projects should be geo-tagged, and there should be an app in which the status of a project is just a click away,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.

“What we need is a GPS—government project surveillance—system that will not only yield updated data on construction projects, but also non-infrastructure deliverables like books and hospital equipment,” Recto said.

“So sa isang school halimbawa, pwede ipakita kung ilang science laboratory equipment ang ipamimigay; kung DOH-run hospital, magkano ang budget nito sa taong ito; at kung DENR reforestation naman ay kung ilang puno ang itatanim,” Recto said.

Recto said if “remote monitoring” is now being used by owners of houses being built, then the same can be done in major government infrastructure projects.

Recto said in the case of infra projects “that cost much in funds and inconvenience,” job-site cameras should be installed and real-time footage be made available to the public— if not, “a time-lapse video can be uploaded regularly.”

“In this age of Facebook Live, these should not be hard and expensive to do,” Recto said.

He said if CCTV footage can lead to the capture of criminals, “so can it capture delays in construction.”

“Raw live video is the best feedback. Pwede makita if work is on time, on budget and according to specifications.”

For President Duterte, it can be the best monitoring tool of how trillions of tax and borrowed pesos are being spent, Recto said.

“He need not wait for Powerpoint reports during Cabinet meetings if he can go on a virtual inspection of projects anytime by just looking at them at the phone of Senator Bong Go,” Recto said.

Recto said “remote monitoring” of government projects is not a new idea but one launched three years ago by then Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Called Project DIME, or Digital Imaging for Monitoring and Evaluation, the DBM-DOST collaboration employs various technologies like Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Open Roads Platform, Geotagging and drones.