Four Philippine local government units (LGUs) developed artificial intelligence (AI) applications to improve public services, focusing on making government work faster and easier. Baguio City, Cabanatuan City, Cebu City, and Lanao del Sur Province presented their projects at a forum hosted by PLDT and Smart.
Built through PLDT and Smart’s AI-in-a-Box program, the projects were featured at the “AI in Action Forum: Empowering Smarter Governance for Digital-Ready LGUs.” Discussions covered how AI could simplify government processes, help officials make decisions, and address community needs.
“AI is opening new opportunities for the government to improve the way services are delivered, but technology is not the goal itself,” said Stephanie Orlino, assistant vice president and head of stakeholder engagement at PLDT and Smart. “What matters is how these tools are translated into practical solutions that respond to real community needs. Through AI in Action, we hope to foster meaningful conversations among government leaders, technology experts, and partners on how AI can be adopted responsibly, sustainably, and in ways that create tangible benefits for citizens.”
The four LGUs shared their work to give other local governments examples of how AI could help with public services.
A panel discussion covered what local governments needed to do before making AI tools part of everyday work. This included identifying a problem to solve, preparing the data needed, training employees, and getting support from government leaders.
Speakers also discussed how to protect personal information, prevent cyberattacks, and set rules for using AI. Maintaining control over government data and technology was another concern.
The discussions also covered how LGUs could check whether their AI projects had improved services for residents.