A few days ago, ABS-CBN News announced that a Filipino “citizen cartographer,” Wayne Dell Manuel, bested 700 other contestants to become the winner of the first Google Map Maker Global Competition.

The contest was launched

to help humanitarian organizations like UNICEF better deliver services, respond to crises, and adapt to change in the countries they operate by enabling access to accurate digital maps.

In fact, even before the contest started last December, Wayne’s mapping contributions helped rescue workers locate victims during September’s Typhoon Ondoy.

Above are just a few of the many benefits of online mapping and Google Map Maker is one of them.

I’ve been an online cartographer myself since last September but I’m using Wikimapia. This is not to say that Wikimapia is better than Google Map Maker (both have their up and downsides); I just like the interface and features of the former.

Of the more than 650,000 registered users of Wikimapia around the globe, I am currently ranked 275th. Note that there are many more Filipinos who rank much higher than I do. Highest ranking Filipino, #24, is a 23-year old from the Cordilleras and uses the call sign JAT86. Number 1 is infovishera from Russia; highest ranked female is British-Chinese Teresa, #9. The most helpful ones are Martin67 from Canada, #5 and stcraftie59 from USA, #11.

If some people spend their free time playing Farmville in Facebook, we do ours in Wikimapia.

With Wikimapia, I can help my community in the following areas: disaster coordination, peace and order management, tax mapping, business promotion, public information and tourism development. Plus, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

Some City Governments spend fortune to set up what’s called Geographic Information System (or GIS) for reasons stated above. The cities of Sta.Rosa, Laguna and Marikina have some of the finest GIS in the country.

I figured that Wikimapia, although limited in features compared to the GIS of said cities, can serve as a GIS for my home city, Malabon.

So, on January 18, after a preliminary meeting with our City Administrator, Engr. Benjamin Villacorta, I wrote a letter to our Mayor proposing that without spending a single centavo, our city can use Wikimapia for its GIS.

On February 3, I became a Volunteer Consultant for the development of Malabon’s GIS, which means I am rendering my services for free.

Here are how our officials can manage our city using Wikimapia:

Disaster Coordination

Since Malabon is flood-prone, it’s imperative to map the components of the CAMANAVA Mega Flood Control Project in case they are breached. They include flood gates like this and another in Navotas, among others; also pumping stations like this and this. Relevant information and pictures (click them to enlarge) are provided whenever possible. Satellite view is the default map in Wikimapia; to see the street names, click Map Type on the upper left, then choose Google Hybrid.

For humanitarian organizations, public schools have to be tagged since they usually serve as evacuation centers during calamities. Examples are this and this.

Other important places in cases of disaster are fire stations and hospitals. Meralco substations, I think, also need to be mapped.

Peace and Order Management

In case a certain, say, bank, is robbed (knock on wood), a police commander from the nearest precinct can assess online its location and layout without actually or immediately going to the place and give orders by remote control.

Different Barangay Headquarters should also be mapped in Acacia, Tinajeros, and Tugatog, among others.

Tax Mapping

By showing images of a building, describing it and listing the establishments or offices located therein, its valuation can be done better. Pictures don’t lie.

Business Promotion

What business would not want an online presence like that of MGC Veranda, Malabon Citisquare or even a lowly “lugawan”?

Better service through better information

For example, if a City Government wants to serve its residents well, it has to enable them to save time whenever they do business with it. Residents need to be certain beforehand who to talk to in which department and not spend precious time looking aimlessly for the right person in a certain department in a large building. Here’s how I mapped Malabon City Hall. Kindly scroll down to see all the departments then click each of them.

Tourism Development

Promoting Pancit Malabon to attract attention to our city is an old and wet way of developing travel and tourism in Malabon. In my opinion, Malabon’s most important attractions are its geography and history.

Malabon is bounded on the West by the Navotas River and is cut in two by the Tullahan River. Aside from which are other rivers and fishponds. Where in Metro Manila can you find so much body of natural water? We’re Asia’s version of Venice. That, we all know, is both good and bad news. But why focus on the bad when something good can come out of it?

Next is an image of one of the waterways in Malabon.

I was told that some tourists come to Malabon just to see the view of Manila Bay. Below is one of the images they see when they look across Manila Bay from one of the buildings in Malabon.

This is the Shrine of Valor and its giant cross on top of Mt. Samat in Bataan Province.

Our city also has a very rich history and is home to several heritage houses that are well-preserved. The Raymundo House and the “Bahay na Puti” are just two of them.

I have yet to map Asilo de Huerfano, an orphanage for young girls, where the first editions of the revolutionary newspaper La Independencia during the Fil-Am War, were printed.

There’s even a well-preserved house in Malabon whose ceiling was painted by Fernando Amorsolo.

Mapping the Philippines online is a worthwhile activity that can tremendously help our country and its people in many ways that were not possible a few years ago. It is only beginning and so many places need to be accurately tagged. I encourage you to help in this endeavor, regardless of which one you choose – Google Map Maker or Wikimapia.

Aside from helping your community, it allows you to become a “virtual” tourist in any place that you can imagine to be.

You also get to interact with countless intelligent people from around the globe. We have a forum where we talk about matters ranging from the serious to mundane.

Click here to register in Wikimapia or here to become a Google Map Maker.

Just for fun, I will leave you with a link to satellite images, not in the Philippines, mapped by a Dutch power-contributor of Wikimapia, Arnout Steenhoek who’s ranked #22. He calls it “1,001 buildings you must see before you die.”

Thank you so much.

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