Cebu ramps up disease tracking system

Panes stressed the importance of evidence-based policymaking, saying, "The governor wants evidence so that she can make a decision. It has to be real-time, it has to be accurate and precise.

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Catalan echoed this, noting that predictive analytics will allow Cebu to anticipate disease peaks, such as dengue season, and to preposition medical supplies, staff, and community interventions.

"Dili nata magsalig sa tan-aw-tan-aw lang. Atong mga desisyon kay base na sa datos," she said.

For example, she said, when hospitals report dengue cases, the system will automatically reflect the data in a centralized database.

Panes said they are targeting a 100-day rollout for the system.

"Actually, the data is already there, aayusin lang. It has to be time-bound. But it's already there. They're collecting it," she said.