DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, August 8 (PIA) -- Dumaguete City has strengthened its barangay collection of data information for easy access of facts and figures for planning and decision-making.

More than a hundred barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials completed the four-day technical training on how to operate the Barangay e-system and Tools (BEST), an information system that caters to the information needs of the communities.

The 30 Punong Barangays, Barangay Secretaries, Barangay Treasurers, and SK officials have participated in the training that will equip them with the skills to collect, store, and manage the residents’ profiles, disaster response, judicial information that enables document generation for effective planning and monitoring in their communities.

It was noted that being the smallest local government units, the barangays play a critical role in collecting grassroot information from the residents which is key for planning and decision making.

The same collected data from the barangay will then be consolidated higher up to the municipal level for an integrated local government unit wide community database.

Among the outputs expected from the training are: Barangay Residents Information database build-up for each community with detailed information on Skills and Education, resident’s health information, products and trade information, disaster response information and digital barangay clearances/permits with captured images for printout.

To ensure the sustainability of the project, the training package includes a free computer central processing unit with pre-loaded software and printer that was turned over to the barangays after the training to set up the actual BeST Kiosk.  (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental with reports from CPIO)