MANILA, Philippines ? Public bidding for contracts in Marikina City will soon be broadcast live on the Internet as part of the city's efforts to promote transparent and clean governance, according to city officials.

The weekly City Council sessions, as well as debates, shall also be ?webcast? live in line with the local government?s ?e-Good Governance project,? which aims to provide readily accessible information and services to residents through information technology.

?Communication through streaming video and audio is no longer the exclusive domain of large companies with money and bandwidth at their disposal,? said Vice Mayor Fabian Cadiz.

?We in the City Council recognize that providing Web video is an essential communication tool. We believe that people take in more information if they can see and hear what is happening in real time,? he said in a statement.

The sixth City Council of Marikina led by Cadiz recently broadcast its first regular session.

The webcast project will also soon feature chat, dubbed ?e-tanong, e-sagot,? in which officials can talk to residents via webcam, although this is still being fine-tuned.

?We aim to make it as interactive and dynamic as possible. Ensuring that our local officials and our citizens can easily communicate is a core element of this project,? Cadiz noted.

The live video streaming of city council sessions may be viewed at www.council.marikina.gov.ph or www.marikinacitycouncil.co.cc.

Mayor Del de Guzman said the IT-driven project was ?an integral step toward creating an honest, graft-free government.?

?Improving transparency by increasing people?s access to information reduces the opportunity for officials to commit unethical acts and encourages good governance,? De Guzman said.