Manila, under Mayor Isko Moreno, earned international recognition after receiving the Silver Award in the Tech-InnovaCity category of the Seoul Smart City Prize 2026 for its use of geographic information systems in disaster management and urban governance.
The award recognized the Manila Innovation Integrated GIS and Data Hub, which combines digital mapping, spatial analysis and real-time monitoring to help identify vulnerable communities, high-risk areas, evacuation routes and priority locations for disaster preparedness. The system is also used in responding to floods, fires and other emergencies across Manila’s six districts.
Moreno credited Manila’s GIS and disaster risk reduction personnel for developing the system over several years.
“This is proof that Manila belongs on the world stage. Years of hard work by our GIS team and our disaster risk reduction personnel brought us here, and I could not be more proud of what they have built,” Moreno said.
The hub is headed by Ramon Jefferson Verano, officer-in-charge of Electronic Data Processing Services under the Office of the Mayor and concurrent chief of the Manila Innovation Integrated GIS and Data Hub. It operates under the Special Projects Section of the Manila City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department led by Director Arnel Eustacio Angeles.
Beyond emergency response, Manila uses the GIS platform for health surveillance, business regulation, tax mapping, education planning and public safety. The system also incorporates drone-based mapping, 2D and 3D visualization, field-data collection and real-time dashboards to support planning, risk assessment and coordination among city offices.
Madrid, Spain received Gold in the category, while Buenos Aires, Argentina also received Silver. Cuenca, Granada and Konya, Turkey received Bronze awards.
The Seoul Smart City Prize, launched in 2023 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization or WeGO, recognizes smart-city projects that combine technological innovation with social inclusion and sustainability.
The 2026 awarding ceremony was held on Oct. 6 at COEX in Seoul.
