Students push for transparency, creates winning mobile app

A mobile app developed by students of Batangas State University is poised to contribute to the government’s efforts to improve public service and disclosure of relevant information.
Dubbed #BAYANIHAN, the mobile app was developed mainly for local government units (LGUs) as a centralized e-government website that will feature, among others, government financial reports to promote transparency in government.
#BAYANIHAN was one of the big winners in the recent 11th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards that was organized by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart). The team that is comprised of Electronics and Communications Engineering students Donna Rei Punzalan, Elezar Garcia, Ralph Brando Bernabe, and Aldrin Abacan, with mentor Engr. Albertson Amante, won third place at the annual competition. The team received a cash prize of P100,000, and the same amount was awarded to the school as grant.
The app will feature localized news, events, and classified ads. It will also serve as a platform where people can avail of the services of LGUs. People will be able to request for business permits and other documents online using the app.
“It uses the ‘task rabbit system’ where agents called “kabayanihan” are hired to process the documents to be acquired,” explained Abacan.
The #BAYANIHAN has both web and Android versions, meaning the mobile app can be accessed via computers and mobile phones. To further assist those who would like to use the app, the team intends to set up interactive kiosks in public areas.
The team has great plans for #BAYANIHAN. “We intend to launch a beta version of both our Android application and website soon. We also have plans to create an iOS version for this,” said Abacan.
SWEEP or the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program, is an industry-academe linkage program with a network of 52 colleges and universities in the Philippines. The SWEEP Awards is the country’s biggest and longest-running technology competition.
This year’s grand champion is Wesleyan University of Cabanatuan City for S-MART or Smart Market Assistance and Product Trading, a mobile app that allows farmers to sell their agricultural products online. Meanwhile, Bulacan State University’s Smart IMAGE (Instant Multiple-option Assessor for General Examinations) was first runner-up. Teams S-MART and Smart IMAGE won P500,000, and P200,000, respectively. The schools also got the equivalent amount in grants.
SWEEP aims to uplift engineering and IT education in the Philippines and help partner-schools produce industry-ready graduates. To know more about SWEEP, visit www.smartsweep.ph or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/sweepschools).