San Jose and Baguio inked a Sister Cities Agreement as they aim to collaborate on their development by sharing policies, activities, and programs.

The agreement, signed by San Jose City Mayor Mario Salvador and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, includes sharing of best practices related to tourism, culture, health, environment, agriculture, education, sports, indigenous peoples’ welfare, and social welfare.

Salvador expressed his gratitude to Magalong for welcoming San Jose as their “sister city.”

He also thanked San Jose City Council Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representative Councilor Luz Naboye for taking the initiative and serving as the lead coordinator.

For its part, the city government of Baguio shared to the city government of San Jose the recently launched Smart City Development Plan.

Baguio showed how it started using real-time data gathering for monitoring and analysis that assists public health, order and safety, as well as disaster risk reduction and management.

The plan also includes the modern use of a traffic management system, faster internet speed, real-time utility reading, and other features to make the lives of the residents more convenient and modernized.

Magalong said they can share their expertise in such development with San Jose City whenever they are ready.

However, he noted that a large fund is required to implement a “Smart City.”

Hence, Magalong underscored the importance of acquiring grants from national government agencies and international funding agencies to carry out this modern and extensive plan. (PIA 3)