Last week, we celebrated the 4th Pista ng Mapa (Festival of Maps) as well as State of the Map Asia 2022. I finally get to physically meet and interact with open data, open source, open mapping and Openstreetmap advocates and contributors after the pandemic. I will write more about my experience in another entry.

In this diary, I would like to honor a person whom I have never physically met but have made a huge difference in my career - one of the pioneers of GIS in the Philippines, the founder of PhilGIS.org and an open geodata advocate who showed compassion to a young beginner mapper / aspiring GIS Specialist (me), Sir Alejandro “Al” Tongco.

Thank you Pista ng Mapa x SotM Asia organizers for remembering his work through the Tatak OSM PH Award :)

Sir Al Tongco’s Tatak OSM PH Award, photo by Ms. Janjan Orano

PhilGIS.org : The first open geoadata source in the Philippines (that I know of)

As you can read in my profile, I did not get GIS courses when I was in college but I self-trained with the help of friends (ate Jireh) and internet. The internet included PhilGIS.org (now no longer what it was). I did not know of Openstreetmap back then (around 2012) but has lurked in talk-ph mailing list.

PhilGIS.org has been instrumental to where I am now, and a lot of mappers and GIS specialist from the Philippines. It was our #1 source of open geodata when requests for geodata from government agencies took months and only to be given PDF or paper maps. Sir Al Tongco maintained the PhilGIS.org site, and in the site, he not only uploaded data, but gave acknowledgement to the data sharers.

PhilGIS interface, grabbed from Earwin: https://agrigeospatialist.wordpress.com/

Online communication with Sir Al Tongco

I remembered emailing him and receiving quick response from him.

1. In 2014, my first email - I introduced myself thru email and asking if I can attend one of his GIS trainings. He immediately replied telling me that he has a training coming up; unfortunately, I did not make it as it was far and I did not have the money to travel that time.
2. In 2016, my last email - I asked for data source of one of the open geodata uploaded in PhilGIS.org, he was able to connect me with the data sharer.

Sir Al Tongco’s Legacy

Unfortunately earlier this year, news broke that Sir Al Tongco has passed. It is sad that I never get to meet him in-person to tell him how thankful I am for PhilGIS.org, and how his dedication in open geodata, and showing compassionate to a young woman like me inspired and helped me thrive in this space.

Aside from the open geodata he shared, I would remember how he showed kindness to young woman and beginner mapper like me. Sir Al Tongco made me feel that I belong, that I did not ask a stupid question, and that we can harmoniously share space with other geo and mappy people.

I looked back and read my last email to him in 2016, I was able to show gratitude virtually :)

Sir Al Tongco, your legacy - dedication to open geodata and compassion with people / community - lives on.