The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) conducted its first eGovHackathon at the SMX Convention Center in Taguig City, attracting over 1,500 registrants from 250 teams.
Undersecretary for E-Government David Almirol addressed various operational issues during the event in a public statement, highlighting the next steps for participating teams.
Evaluating Performance and Top Teams
At the end of the hackathon, the top 10 teams were identified, with the top 30 teams to be announced shortly. Almirol plans to meet individually with these teams to evaluate their projects and determine the top five winners.
Operational Hurdles Encountered
Almirol pointed out several challenges faced during the hackathon, including manual registration processes dictated by government rules and procurement delays that impacted event readiness.
He noted that a limited three-hour judging period resulted in evaluators assessing presentation decks rather than the actual source code.
To improve future hackathons, Almirol proposed a revised format that includes a week for development followed by a week for evaluation.
Budget Overview and Future Plans
The eGovHackathon operated without a specific budget line and utilized over ₱3 million from DICT savings and ₱100,000 in sponsorships. Almirol personally contributed ₱1 million to the cash prize fund, with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos matching this amount.
Looking ahead, Almirol mentioned that the agency has requested ₱100 million in budget allocation for the next fiscal year to support local developers and technology startups.