Pinoys Urged to Vote Online for PH Entry in Int’l Community Choice Award

The Philippines and Malaysia were declared the country-winners in the Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF) Asia Awards 2016 but both are competing in the Community Choice Award through online voting.

The ISIF Asia is a grants and awards program that empowers communities in the Asia Pacific region to research, design and implement internet-based solutions for their own needs.

It places particular emphasis on the positive role of the internet in social and economic development.

A Cebu-based project dubbed “Movable and Deployable ICT Resource Unit (MDRU): Restoring Connectivity During Disasters” was submitted as an entry from the Philippines and declared a co-winner last month out of 52 entries from 11 economies in the Asia Pacific under the Community Impact Category.

Piloted last 2014 in San Remigio in northern Cebu after the Yolanda catastrophe, the project is a unit that can be quickly deployed to restore communications in communities in the aftermath of a disaster with a battery pack that can run for four to five hours, enough to be able to communicate in getting the real situation in disaster-stricken areas.

At the forefront of the MDRU Project is the Central Visayas Information Sharing Network (CVISNET) Foundation, Inc. based in Cebu which was assisted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-7), Ministry of Internal Affairs of Japan and the United Nations – International Telecommunications Union. Jeffrey Llanto, executive director of the CVISNET said it was the second time the Philippines won in the same award; the first time was four to five years ago. Awarding ceremony is scheduled on December 6 in Mexico.

“We are already a winner along with Malaysia.But it would be much nicer if we also win the Community Choice Award,” said Llanto. “I urge all our fellow Pinoy brothers and sisters to please vote for our country so we can bag the popular community choice award,” said Llanto. Online voting has started in early November and will end on December 5 midnight as all Filipinos are encouraged to vote for our country’s entry, said Llanto.

An additional 1,000 Australian dollars will be given to the winner of the Community Choice Award as Llanto stressed it is the recognition that matters more than the monetary incentive.

Llanto urged the public to visit the following link http://isif.asia/projects/projects/view/1295 for the online voting and follow the steps to count one’s vote. (rmn/fcr/PIA7)