Republika ng Pilipinas

Lalawigan ng Iloilo
Tanggapan ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan

Honorable Carmen Rita Monfort-Bautista
4th District of Iloilo

6
th
Floor, Provincial Capitol,Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City 5000
Tel: 033 509 5096 Fax: 033 337 3048 Web: http://team.monfort.ph
The Power of Texting
1

The Broadcast Link Alert System via Text (BLAST) Project

Privilege Speech delivered at the
Regular Session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Iloilo
On July 15, 2014

Iloilo, Mabuhay.

The advancement of technology is amazingly exponential. In a study of the World Bank
2
,
the Philippines had 107 phones per 100 people in 2012 from just 82 per 100 about 5 years
ago. This means that most people have more than 1 phone. A report by GMANewsOnline
3

mentions that in the 3
rd
Quarter of 2013, of the total 103.16 Million Mobile units shipped
in Asia, the Philippines imported 20.69 Million units or an astounding 20.05% of the Asian
market.

The Philippines has been consistently dubbed as the Texting Capital of the World
4
.
PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone) President and CEO Napoleon Nazareno
reported in 2012 that the average SMS sent by subscribers daily was at 1.4 billion
5
. To
date, PLDT and its affiliates have a total base of 70 million subscribers nationwide.

In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States approved an
Emergency Alert Text-Messaging System that announces imminent or ongoing threats
such as hurricanes, tornadoes, or earthquakes.
6


Based on the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) study of 59 years, the Philippines experience an average of 20
tropical cyclones a year.
7


With all these data and information, the logical move is to harness all these technological
advances and control it to benefit most, if not all our countrymen.

Leveraging on the largest mobile network, the undersigned, in consultation with the Office
of the Governor and Provincial Line Agencies, collaborated with Smart Communications
Infoboard service to provide an alert system that utilizes SMS.

The way the BLAST Project works is that the important announcement is culled from
Government Agencies like the DOST PAGASA (Department of Science and Technology
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), the
NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council), the Office of the
Governor, and the PDRRMC (Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council).
The messages are relayed to the Committee for verification and dissemination to the
subscribers of the service.

To illustrate the flow of information, below is a graphic representation of the process:

1
Texting - to send a text message from a mobile phone (as defined by http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/texting)
2
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2
3
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/349497/economy/companies/smartphones-to-dominate-phl-market-as-prices-drop
4
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/161814/filipinos-hailed-as-global-citizens-in-terms-of-brand-perception
5
http://www.interaksyon.com/infotech/despite-inroads-by-social-media-sms-remains-king-in-philippines
6
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/09/fcc.cell.phone.alert/
7
http://kidlat.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/cab/2_tc_freq.htm#tropical cyclone occurrence
Free Text Alert System
Office of Carmen Rita Monfort-Bautista
Page 2 of 2






Earlier versions of this system was tested in Baguio, through a partnership between a
University and Smart. This system has been running for more than a decade. Major
Universities and Colleges all over the country have utilized this system.

The backend of the system is a collaboration between Team Monfort and Smart
Communications. While Smart provides the facilities for sending messages, other costs
such as laboratory facilities, internet connection, and manpower will be shouldered by
Team Monfort. There will is no cost to the Government.

For online subscriptions, visit: http://team.monfort.ph/BLAST

Or

Text ILOILO NAME/ MUNICIPALITY/ SMART#/GENDER to 09098361198

The BLAST Project can now bring timely and relevant information to our constituents
through the power of texting.
Announcement
Government Agency sends
announcement to the BLAST Team
Verification
Information is reviewed and verified
to conform with set policies
Posting
Message is posted through the Online
Infoboard System
Receiving
Free SMS announcement is RECEIVED
by REGISTERED SUBSCRIBERS