Technology for transparency

By Adelle Chua

Engr. Noel Sta. Ines

Noel Sta. Ines has been around. A civil engineer by training, he has worked with government, specifically with the Ministry of Local Governments and Community Development, in the 1980's.  He then moved over to the Department of Public Works and Highway. It was in 1997 when he transferred to the development sector, as a procurement specialist with the World Bank.

His job at the WB is tough, but his advocacy is even bigger.

At the capacity building session at the Puerto Princesa City Hall in Palawan, Sta. Ines shared his geotagging expertise to an audience of Region IV-B auditors and civil society representatives who would comprise the audit teams who would look into the farm-to-market roads for phase 2 of the Citizen Participatory Audit.

Why geotaging? “It is an innovative tool to enhance transparency and supervision of development projects,” he said.

And if “geotagging” sounds just a bit too hi-tech at first blush, Sta. Ines advises, do not despair. “If you have an interest in learning something, you will learn it even if it is not your expertise.”