Senator Bam Aquino has filed a bill seeking to establish a Big Data Center that will hasten government’s response time during disasters and disease breakouts.

“If Big Data is available, government can be more responsive in real-time, especially during disasters,” Aquino said in Senate Bill 2214.

Through the Big Data Center, Aquino said pertinent information crucial to delivery of services during calamities could be facilitated and disseminated quickly.

“With the help of the Big Data Center, disaster response teams will be armed by important information and otherdata needed during emergency situations and calamities,” Aquino added.

Entitled the Big Data Act of 2014, the bill is calling for the establishment of a Big Data Center where large volume of datasets used for research and development and other important purposes will be facilitated and protected.

Aquino added the bill has enough security measures to ensure that data being stored will remain private and out of prying eyes.

“Now that information is almost open to anyone due to the advent of smartphones, Internet and other technology, the Big Data Center provides a blanket of protection on our privacy,” Aquino stressed.

In his measure, Aquino emphasized the need for a National Big Data Center where datasets whose “volume is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage and analyze within a tolerable elapsed period of time.”

“An establishment of a technology center that facilitates Big Data is proposed in order for policy and services to be more relevant to the changing needs of the people,” Aquino said.

At present, Aquino said Big Data from information-sensing smart phones, social media and the Internet, remote sensing and climate sensors is getting to be more and more available.

However, the senator very little has been done to create more value out of Big Data that will help policy makers to be more responsive to the needs of the public on near real time.

“The Philippine Big Data Center Bill proposes an infrastructure where Big Data is utilized for research and development, and invention and innovation,” he said.

According to the bill, the Center will be established to develop a range of standards and use software and other tools for analytics on massive amounts of data being generated from the use of Internet and other technology.

The Center will be responsible for disseminating the knowledge gained from its research activities to stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to strengthen policy making and industrial competitiveness.

Aquino said the passage of this bill would pioneer and institutionalize a technological breakthrough that supports public and private sectors and strengthens government’s efforts for more advanced, sustained and inclusive developmental progress.