Everything you need to know: Rappler-QC Tomas Morato virtual public consultation

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler has partnered with the Quezon City Council to gather public insights and measure public sentiment about a proposal to pedestrianize the iconic Tomas Morato Avenue using its app and artificial intelligence.

The proposal stems from a draft ordinance put forth by Quezon City Councilor Irene Belmonte, who represents the city’s Fourth District. Mayor Joy Belmonte supports the collaboration as a way to sound the public on the possibility of declaring more streets in the city as car-free, pedestrianized “people’s streets.”

This series of virtual public consultations will complement in-person consultations conducted by Councilor Belmonte.

Here’s what you need to know.

The virtual consultations will be composed of four online sessions each lasting one hour and 30 minutes long. Two sessions will be just for residents, employees, workers and business owners in the barangays surrounding Tomas Morato Avenue. The other two sessions will be open to the public.

They will all take place in July or August.

All those who want to participate in the sessions, whether Tomas Morato Avenue stakeholders or the public, must join the Tomas Morato Consultation chat room in the Rappler Communities app.

To access the chat room, you must download the app for free, either on App Store or Play Store. QR codes are below. It is also accessible via web version.

You will be asked to register your email, make a password, and create a username. Then tap the Community tab at the bottom, and look for the chat room represented by the icon below.

The dates and times of the sessions will be announced in the chat room. The chat room will also be used as a support space and troubleshooting chat room during the virtual sessions themselves.

The sessions will take place in Rappler’s aiDialogue platform that participants can access via a link that will be sent to the Tomas Morato Consultation chat room. Participants will be able to log in using the same credentials as what they used to log in to the Rappler Communities app.

The sessions can take up to a hundred participants joining in simultaneously. Participants can join from wherever they are, using mobile phone or laptop, as