Like its private sector counterpart in the look-out for better ways to serve customers, a service-oriented public sector organization has a potent tool for serving its constituents. It is the Text Address.

There was a time when face-to-face meetings and snail mail were sufficient ways of serving the public. However, when distance and time are important considerations, the telephone provides a number of advantages. Telephone calls, of course, have to be answered right away by government staff and are, generally, time consuming. Telephone lines also get busy and annoy callers in the process.

Then came the World Wide Web and e-mail. They provided new, interactive ways of serving the public. However, considering the still limited number of personal computers connected to the Internet, these tools are accessible only to a small segment of the public.

Enter Texting

Mobile phones are more egalitarian. At over 15 million and growing fast, there are mobile phone users even in very remote areas of the country. Mobile phones are also found in numerous households of very modest means.

It is not surprising then that a number of government agencies have decided to become text-accessible. Some have announced mobile phone numbers that can receive text messages from the public. These agencies have clearly taken steps toward having an interactive, highly accessible “constituent relationship management” tool.

These agencies typically acquire a GSM modem-based system. A modem-based system requires special software and hardware to run. It can receive and reply to a modest number of messages per minute. A PC and government staff handles the messages in the government agency’s premises. The reply messages are charged to a pre-paid or post-paid account. Trained personnel also need to look after the system. In addition, while the agencies intend the announced numbers for texting, members of the public may actually call these numbers since they look like regular mobile phone numbers.

These agencies may not know that there is now a better way – the Text Address service.

Victor Victoria, city administrator of Mandaluyong, appreciates the value of Text Address. He sees the service providing a government agency with a popular and “most accessible form of communication” that allows mobile phone users a way to air their concerns and complaints.

Constituents send their messages to an easy-to-remember short number – 2960 - a common wireless number for Smart, Talk N Text and Globe. They start their message with an intuitive Keyword or Text Address of Mandaluyong City.

Messages to the government of Mandaluyong City get replied to or acknowledged automatically with a standard “auto-reply” which can be varied from time to time by the city government. Since the message from the public may be a request for information or action, a follow-up reply may also be sent.

For the City of Mandaluyong, both “auto-reply” and the follow-up reply are practically free. They do not cost anything more than the existing Internet-connected PC already used by the office. This is because the Text Address service works like the “self-addressed stamped envelop.” The constituents who send messages to 2960 pay typically P2.50. They do not mind paying this if the message is truly important. Because the message is paid P2.50, the wireless network operators, in effect, allow the City of Mandaluyong to reply for free.

A Mobile Solution

Edwin David plays a key role in the use of Text Address by the Pasay City government. As head of the Management Information Technology Services Office of the Pasay City government, he sees the high message volume capability and the maintenance-free, hosted feature of the service as definite advantages over other approaches. He also notes that Text Address is a truly mobile solution for those responsible for replying to the messages from constituents.

“Sometimes, those tasked with answering the messages from the public can’t be expected to be bound to their desks as they also have to move around,” he explains. “Text Address allows the staff responsible for the replies to do their job from any Internet-connected PC with a Web browser or even from a mobile phone.”

A public servant responsible for dealing with the messages can actually just log on to www.textaddress.ph and reply to several messages from the constituents. She can also choose to leave her desk and turn on the option to receive and reply to messages from the public with her mobile phone, without revealing her personal mobile number. The public only needs to know the common wireless number 2960 and the keyword or Text Address of her agency. It is, thus, also privacy-friendly.

However, in the case of Roderick Suarez of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the budget-friendly feature of the Text Address service understandably gets the high marks.

Indeed, for national government agencies and LGUs, faced with the multiplying concerns of their constituents and budgetary constraints, these are testing times. The Text Address service could help them pass the test.


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