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| (Image Source: INQUIRER.net/Facebook/Lipa Status) |
Lipa City has advanced its vision of becoming the first Smart City in Batangas Province by signing agreements, hosting workshops, receiving a roadmap, and training its workforce from 2024 to 2025 in strong partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), showing its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and inclusive governance.
Sealing The Deal: MOA Signing
DOST-CALABARZON and the City Government of Lipa signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at City Hall last July 19, 2024 to launch the Innovation, Science, and Technology for Accelerating Regional Technology-Based Development (iSTART) and Smart and Sustainable Communities (SSC) Programs. DOST-CALABARZON Regional Director Emelita P. Bagsit and Lipa City Mayor Eric B. Africa led the signing with officials from DOST and the city government witnessing the event. Lipa became the first city in Batangas to embrace these programs, showing its determination to harness science, technology, and innovation for sustainable urban development.
Building Capacity: iSTART Workshops
Lipa City hosted a three-day iSTART Workshop at the ABC Hall last February 25–27, 2025, facilitated by DOST and the University of the Philippines Department of Community and Environmental Resource Planning (UP-DCERP) facilitated the sessions. Stakeholders from government, academe, private sector, and barangays joined these workshops and collaborated to integrate smart and sustainable community initiatives into local governance and to ensure that development strategies reflect both technical rigor and community participation.
Roadmap Delivered: STI Plan Turnover
DOST-CALABARZON and UPLB-DCERP handed over the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Plans to Lipa City last August 14, 2025 during the opening of the 2025 Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (RSTW) in Antipolo City. The STI Plans provide baseline data, a smart city roadmap, and a portfolio of programs and projects tailored to Lipa’s development goals. DOST-CALABARZON committed to monitor and evaluate the city’s progress to ensure alignment with its smart city vision.
Empowering People: Digital Transformation Training
Lipa City and DOST-Batangas trained local government personnel on digital transformation during a two-day seminar last September 9–10, 2025 titled “Empowering LGU Lipa: Digital Transformation For A Smarter, Sustainable City Future”. Speakers from DOST-CALABARZON, DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) CALABARZON, and DOST-Batangas discussed AI tools for governance, change management, science communication, and social media strategies. City Personnel Officer Geovanni U. Librea expressed the city’s commitment to apply these skills to strengthen transparency, efficiency, and service delivery.
What's Next For Lipa City
Lipa City will begin the implementation phase of its Smart City roadmap in 2026. The city plans to roll out digital governance systems for citizen services and data-driven decision-making, integrate smart infrastructure projects that promote sustainable transport, energy efficiency, and resilient urban planning, engage communities by involving citizens, MSMEs, and associations in shaping the city’s digital future, and expand capacity-building programs to barangays and local institutions to foster inclusive transformation.
Mayor Eric B. Africa emphasized that Lipa’s smart cityhood journey focuses not only on technology but also on building a future-ready, sustainable, and people-centered city. With strong institutional partnership with DOST and a clear roadmap, Lipa City continues to redefine urban governance in Batangas and beyond.
