Campaign posters for the May 9 local and national elections adorn a fenced property in Quezon City on April 4, 2022. With a little over a month before the elections, candidates from all parties are wooing voters in traditional and non-traditional ways. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — In an age of rampant misinformation and disinformation, inaccurate information can often influence election decisions — but a new platform from the University of the Philippines aims to change that by providing voters with decades of data on local governance.

The Philippine Local Government Interactive Dataset, officially launched on November 8 by the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UPCIDS), collates and analyzes election data of all candidates, and spending data of all provinces and cities from 1992 to 2022.

The UPCIDS Program for Social and Political Change (PSPC) unveiled the website during a launch and mini-forum event titled “Empowering Citizens through Data: Launch of the Philippine Local Government Interactive Dataset” at UP Diliman in Quezon City. 

RETROSPECTIVE VOTING

Dr. Rogelio Alicor Panao, convenor of the PSPC, highlighted the platform’s potential to support retrospective voting, a behavior where voters evaluate political candidates based on past performance.

He explained that voters commonly reflect on whether a political candidate properly spent funds and provided satisfactory public service before deciding on who to vote for.

“The dashboard helps answer these questions by showing whether politicians who provide better services or spend public money wisely are more likely to be reelected,” Panao said in an interview.

Panao shared that the main motivation behind the project is to encourage transparency, accountability, and informed discussions in local governance.

“The goal was to consolidate these datasets into a single, user-friendly platform accessible to researchers, policymakers, and the general public,” he said.

The four-person team behind the website gathered official records of fiscal data from the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) and election data from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

The website allows users to generate information by selecting their preferred dataset types—such as election data, candidate records, or fiscal data—and narrowing their focus to a specific province or municipality.

It provides step-by-step instructions to guide users in processing the data.

For election data, users can explore results from specific election years and for specific positions, accompanied by charts and tables that visually interpret the data.

Currently, only data for the mayoral position is available.

Candidate records can be viewed by region or by searching for a specific candidate’s name.

Meanwhile, fiscal data for all cities and provinces are available, including details on LGUs’ income, Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA), tax collections, and expenditures. These expenditures cover areas such as economic development, education, health, housing, labor, public welfare, and social services, along with expenditures breakdown.

However, creating the website came with challenges. Panao mentioned difficulties in collecting, cleaning and standardizing data spanning 30 years.

“Local election results and fiscal information were scattered across multiple sources, often in inconsistent formats. Some records were incomplete, while others needed to be cross-checked against official records,” he said. 

The team used both automated tools and manual cross-checking with government institutions to ensure data accuracy.

They also developed a historical mapping of administrative changes to make the data comparable across various periods while preserving important details.

Initially, the website was available only in English, but Filipino was later added to make it more accessible.

Although there was hesitation about making the data public, the team successfully persuaded stakeholders of its importance in informing citizens.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

“The dashboard’s current form is, admittedly, not the most attractive. Neither is it the most navigable for the ordinary citizen. We are not quite there yet,” Panao acknowledged.

In the future, the team aims to enhance the platform by introducing features such as interactive data visualizations, filters, and explanatory notes, to make it easier for users.

Additionally, they intend to expand its scope by including national-level election data and socio-economic indicators.

To ensure the data remains up to date, the team plans to establish partnerships with government agencies.

“We hope the dashboard becomes a cornerstone for transparency and informed governance in the Philippines,” Panao said.

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