Tacloban: Four national government agencies in Eastern Visayas will pilot the Quick Monitoring System (QMS) to enhance oversight, transparency, and accountability in government infrastructure project implementation. The Regional Development Council (RDC) has already completed the QMS orientation for officials of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, National Irrigation Administration, and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
According to Philippines News Agency, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Eastern Visayas (DEPDev-8) Assistant Regional Director Jam Colas stated that the technology will be rolled out by contractors for selected new projects across these four agencies. First implemented by Leyte province, the QMS was embraced by the RDC in response to growing concerns for transparency and issues on flood control and ghost projects, Colas told the agency.
The QMS, an initiative by Leyte Governor and RDC chair Carlos Jericho Petilla, has been cited as an effective tool for monitoring project implementation. Colas explained that the technology allows real-time, daily, and minute-by-minute project monitoring via online time-lapse visuals from on-site cameras installed from start to finish or termination. Under the system, contractors install a mobile application on an Android device associated with their assigned project, documenting progress with a long-term time-lapse camera and uploading footage to agency servers. The system also supports offline storage, enabling automatic uploading once internet connectivity becomes available.
Colas emphasized that the QMS is expected to enhance the ability of implementing agencies to closely monitor government infrastructure projects and further strengthen efficiency, transparency, and accountability among agencies and contractors. Currently, the Regional Project Monitoring Committee oversees projects through the Regional Project Monitoring and Evaluation System (RPMES). The proposed integration of the QMS into the RPMES will be submitted to the National Project Monitoring Committee for consideration. Under the RPMES, regional offices submit quarterly progress reports to the regional committee for review.
