The City of Manila is home to over one million Filipinos and one of the richest cultural centers in the Philippines. It prides itself with a multitude of museums, charming parks, historical hotels, and fascinating churches that draw more than a million tourists each year.

With so many Manileños and important institutions that rely on the city’s administration for their day-to-day activities, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso has ordered the creation of a grievance desk where Manileños’ complaints will be heard directly by the local government.

By partnering with Google Philippines and the pioneering Artificial Intelligence company in the Philippines, Senti AI, the Manila City Government has initiated the creation of the MPIO Complaints Desk — a platform where Manileños can file complaints through Google Forms which will then be compiled and submitted directly to the Office of the Mayor.

“Google believes that technology plays a vital role in nation-building. We are honored to be part of this milestone and we are excited to see the impact of the MPIO Complaints Desk initiative to both the LGU and the citizens of the City of Manila,” said Bernadette Nacario, Country Director of Google Philippines.

The MPIO Complaints Desk’s objective is to receive unobstructed feedback from the citizens ranging from traffic issues, petty crime, emergencies, and even concerns about class suspensions.

“We are dedicated to establishing a reliable grievance desk for Manilenos. With this new initiative, the public can rest assured that the Manila City Government will acknowledge, investigate and respond to their concerns efficiently,” Manila City Public Information Officer Julius Leonen

The system makes use of Google technologies and “Natural Language Processing” a subset of Artificial Intelligence where a machine can understand and make sense of human languages. This feature helps the city government clear away the need for manual routing and re-routing of concerns because the system automatically analyzes the submissions and directs them straight to the department which can address the complaints. Thus, allowing the City Government of Manila to resolve issues thoroughly and quickly without being bogged down by volume of feedback.

“The mayor expects to leave no stone unturned for the millions of Manileños who have chosen to trust him with their unhindered feedback. He is confident in using the latest available technology as long as it will drive efficiency and productivity. This is why we are truly honored for this opportunity to help Mayor Isko and the City of Manila through innovative technologies.” says Ralph Regalado, CEO of Senti AI.

Mayor Isko, himself, will have access to the system so he can see the progress of the concerns and know if they are being acted on or not. The mayor will also be able to view the system through his mobile phone so he can conveniently check on the complaints anywhere and anytime.

“I will see if they will act on the matter… Bawal ang tamad sa Maynila.” Mayor Isko said during the MOA signing of the project.

The MPIO Complaints Desk is expected to roll out during the second quarter of the year.