Cebu City Pilots an AI-Enabled Action Center to Centralise Citizen Complaints

Cebu City has begun pilot-testing the Cebu City Action Center, an AI-enabled online platform meant to gather residents’ complaints and feedback in one place, The Freeman reported on October 21. Mayor Nestor Archival said the system lets residents file reports, track their progress and receive real-time updates, with the goal of making city services more accessible and transparent.

Councilor Jaypee Labella, who authored the measure behind the project, has said the platform removes the guesswork over where to lodge a complaint: there is a single channel for filing concerns, and residents can see what action has been taken. The pilot covers three offices, the Department of Public Services, the Department of Engineering and Public Works, and the Transportation Office. Officials have warned that glitches are expected and say feedback from users will shape the system before it is extended citywide.

The City Council has approved ₱10.25 million for the project, covering servers, technical support and warranties for three years. Cebu City is one of only three local government units in the country chosen for the programme, together with Baguio and Lanao del Sur, which makes it a test bed for digital local governance. In a separate meeting, Archival also discussed a smart energy management system for City Hall with Japan’s iFORCOM.

What it means in practice

Baguio, another city in the group, has already tried AI on permits through its BIZ Checker zoning tool for entrepreneurs. Training is spreading as well, with the DAP course helping local officials build AI prototypes, while the national government pushes eGovAI and its Kuya AI assistant in the eGovPH app.

For residents, the real test is less about the AI than about follow-through. A portal that routes complaints faster only builds trust if departments close cases and residents can see the result, so the three pilot offices will set the tone. Clear rules on how complaint data is stored, who can see it and how long it is kept will matter more as the platform scales.

What to watch: how many complaints the pilot handles, how quickly the three departments respond, when the city extends the platform to other offices, and what Baguio and Lanao del Sur take from Cebu’s rollout.