PHL gov't bids for transparency with new Open Data website

Are you used to not getting the information you want from the government? That may change starting today, if the Aquino administration stays true to its word.

 

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Thursday led the launch of the Open Data Philippines (www.data.gov.ph), an online platform where government data will be made accessible to the general public.

 

"We in the Aquino administration believe that: By making government data accessible, understandable, and shareable, we set the fundamental conditions to further enable our people to be more effective partners in advancing good governance," the Palace official, who is also chair of the Open Data Task Force, said during his speech on the second day of the Good Governance Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center.

 

 

Data.gov.ph's About page said it "consolidates the datasets of different government agencies, allowing users to find specific information from a rich and continuously growing collection of public datasets."

 

On the homepage, users may look for specific datasets by typing keywords in the search box.  The latest datasets and infographics can also be seen on the homepage.

 

Lacierda, however, said they are still expanding the 650 data files available on the site.

 

Data searches can be filtered by category and file format, which include Text and Excel.  The data sets can then be shared on social networking sites like Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter.

 

Users can also comment or request data on the Community page and even submit their own apps in the Apps page.

 

Those wishing to use the site can use their Facebook accounts to log in but membership is not required to download the files or data sets available.

 

The other parts of the website may be navigated using the tab at the top of the website. — TJD, GMA News