🏛️ Better LB (Los Baños)

A community-led, open-source portal designed to make the government of the Municipality of Los Baños accessible, transparent, and user-friendly.

This project is a municipal-focused fork of BetterGov.ph, adapted to meet the specific needs of Los Bañenses.

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Why We're Building This Project

Official government websites are often difficult to navigate on mobile devices, lack standardized accessibility features, and can be slow to update. Better LB provides a high-performance alternative that mirrors official data (built by BetterGov.PH volunteers) in a modern, inclusive, and community-audited format.

🏛️ About Los Baños

Los Baños (officially the Municipality of Los Baños) is a first-class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. Known as the "Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines," it hosts prestigious institutions including the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Quick Facts

• Province: Laguna
• Region: Region IV-A (CALABARZON)
• Coordinates: 14.1763°N, 121.2219°E
• Official Website: https://losbanos.gov.ph
• Type: Municipality
• Barangays: 14 barangays

Portal Features

BetterLB provides Los Baños with:

• Public Services Directory: Comprehensive guide to municipal services with requirements, fees, and step-by-step processes
• Legislative Portal: Access to ordinances, resolutions, and executive orders from the Sangguniang Bayan
• Transparency Dashboard: Financial data, procurement bids, and infrastructure projects
• Government Directory: Contact information for all municipal departments and officials
• Multi-language Support: English and Filipino translations

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🔄 Forking for Your LGU

BetterLB is designed to be easily adapted for any Local Government Unit (LGU) in the Philippines.

Quick Start for Other LGUs

1. Edit Configuration: Update /config/lgu.config.json with your LGU details
2. Update Translations: Modify /public/locales/en/common.json for LGU-specific text
3. Add Your Data: Replace data files in /src/data/lgu/ with your municipality's information
4. Build and Test: Run npm install && npm run build

Configuration Files to Edit

File	What to Change
/config/lgu.config.json	All LGU settings (name, province, coordinates, branding, transparency config)
/public/locales/en/common.json	UI text strings (hero title, footer copyright, government section)
/src/data/lgu/yourlgu/directory/departments.json	Municipal departments and offices
/src/data/lgu/yourlgu/directory/barangays.json	Barangay information
/src/data/lgu/yourlgu/services/categories/	Public services data

Key Configuration Fields

Field	Description	Example (Los Baños)
lgu.name	Short municipality name	"Los Baños"
lgu.fullName	Full official name	"Municipality of Los Baños"
lgu.province	Province name	"Laguna"
lgu.region	Region name	"Region IV-A"
lgu.regionCode	Region code	"CALABARZON"
lgu.type	LGU type	"municipality" or "city"
lgu.officialWebsite	Official LGU website	"https://losbanos.gov.ph"
portal.name	Portal name	"BetterLB"
portal.baseUrl	Portal base URL	"https://betterlb.org"
portal.tagline	Portal tagline	"Community Powered Los Baños Portal"

Note: See FORKING.md for comprehensive forking instructions including database setup for legislative data.

Technical Stack

• Frontend: React 19, Vite, TypeScript (Strict mode)
• Styling: Tailwind CSS v4 (CSS variables, high-contrast tokens)
• Backend: Cloudflare Pages Functions (TypeScript)
• Data: Structured JSON (Modular category-based architecture)
• Search: Meilisearch with Fuse.js fuzzy search
• Localization: i18next with English & Filipino support
• Maps: Leaflet for geospatial visualizations
• Data Pipeline: Python scripts for legislative document processing
• Testing: Playwright (E2E tests across multiple browsers)
• Code Quality: ESLint, Prettier, Husky pre-commit hooks

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Project Structure

betterlb/
├── e2e/                         # End-to-end tests
│   └── utils/                   # Test helpers and shared testing logic
├── functions/                   # Serverless / backend functions (Cloudflare Pages)
│   └── api/                     # API endpoints and handlers
├── pipeline/                    # Data processing pipeline (Python side)
│   ├── data/                    # Structured source documents
│   │   └── pdfs/                # Source legislative PDFs
│   │       ├── executive_orders/
│   │       ├── ordinances/
│   │       └── resolutions/
│   └── __pycache__/             # Python cache (auto-generated)
├── public/                      # Static public assets
│   ├── assets/                  # General media assets
│   ├── locales/                 # Translation files (en, fil)
│   └── logos/                   # Logo exports
├── raw_data/                    # Unprocessed data before pipeline cleanup
├── scripts/                     # Automation, maintenance, and build scripts
├── src/                         # Main application source code
│   ├── components/              # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── data-display/        # Tables, cards, and record viewers
│   │   ├── home/                # Homepage-specific components
│   │   ├── layout/              # Layout wrappers, grids, headers, footers
│   │   ├── map/                 # Map visualizations and geospatial UI
│   │   ├── navigation/          # Menus, navbars, breadcrumbs
│   │   ├── search/              # Search bars, filters, query UI
│   │   ├── ui/                  # Generic UI elements (buttons, modals, etc.)
│   │   └── widgets/             # Small reusable info widgets
│   ├── constants/               # App-wide constant values and config
│   ├── data/                    # Structured frontend data layer
│   │   ├── about/               # About page content
│   │   ├── directory/           # Government directory datasets
│   │   │   └── schema/          # Data schemas for directory records
│   │   ├── legislation/         # Legislative data
│   │   │   ├── committees/
│   │   │   ├── documents/
│   │   │   │   └── sb_12/       # Session-specific legislative docs
│   │   │   ├── persons/         # Councilors, authors, sponsors
│   │   │   ├── sessions/        # Legislative sessions
│   │   │   │   └── sb_12/
│   │   │   └── term/            # Term metadata
│   │   ├── schema/              # Global data schemas
│   │   ├── services/            # Public service datasets
│   │   │   └── categories/      # Service classifications
│   │   ├── statistics/          # Municipality statistics datasets
│   │   └── transparency/        # Transparency and governance data
│   ├── hooks/                   # Custom reusable frontend hooks
│   ├── i18n/                    # Internationalization setup and config
│   │   ├── languages.ts         # Language definitions (English, Filipino)
│   │   └── README.md            # Translation guide
│   ├── lib/                     # Utility libraries and helpers
│   ├── pages/                   # Route-level pages (site sections)
│   │   ├── about/
│   │   ├── accessibility/
│   │   ├── contribute/
│   │   ├── data/                # Open data portal pages
│   │   ├── government/          # Government structure pages
│   │   │   ├── barangays/
│   │   │   ├── departments/
│   │   │   ├── elected-officials/
│   │   │   └── executive/
│   │   ├── legislation/         # Legislative portal for Ordinances/Resolutions/Executive Orders
│   │   ├── services/            # Public services portal
│   │   ├── sitemap/             # Human-readable sitemap
│   │   ├── statistics/          # Statistics portal
│   │   └── transparency/        # Transparency portal
│   │       ├── bids/
│   │       ├── components/
│   │       ├── financial/
│   │       ├── infrastructure/
│   │       └── procurement/
│   └── types/                   # Type definitions (TypeScript or schemas)
└── (root config files)          # package.json, build configs, .env files

Key Components

• Service Directory: Categorized services merged from src/data/lgu/losbanos/services/categories/
• Legislative Portal: Ordinances, resolutions, executive orders with document parsing
• Transparency Portal: Financial data, procurement, bids, infrastructure projects
• Search Integration: Meilisearch-powered search with real-time indexing
• Internationalization: Multi-language support with i18next

Los Baños-Specific Data

BetterLB includes structured data for Los Baños:

Data Type	Location	Description
Departments	/src/data/lgu/losbanos/directory/departments.json	Municipal departments and offices with contact info
Barangays	/src/data/lgu/losbanos/directory/barangays.json	14 barangay profiles and officials
Services	/src/data/lgu/losbanos/services/categories/*.json	Public services by category (BPLO, Assessor, Engineering, etc.)
Citizens Charter	/src/data/citizens-charter/citizens-charter.json	Service requirements, fees, and client steps
Legislation	Cloudflare D1 Database	Ordinances, resolutions, executive orders
Statistics	/src/data/statistics/	Municipal demographics and indicators

Data Pipeline for Legislative Documents

Los Baños legislative documents are processed through a Python pipeline:

1. Scrape (pipeline/1_scrape.py) - Download PDFs from official sources
2. Normalize (pipeline/1.5_normalize.py) - Standardize filenames and metadata
3. Parse (pipeline/3_parse.py) - Extract text and metadata from PDFs
4. Generate (pipeline/4_generate.py) - Create structured JSON for database import

See pipeline/README.md for complete documentation.

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🚀 How to Run Locally

1. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/BetterLosBanos/betterlb
cd betterlb
npm install

2. Prepare Data

Since the service directory is split into manageable category files, you must merge them before running the app:

python3 scripts/merge_services.py

3. Start Development Server

npm run dev

Access the portal at: http://localhost:5173

4. Running Tests

npm run test:e2e        # Run all end-to-end tests
npm run lint            # Check code quality (max warnings = 0)
npm run format          # Format code with Prettier

5. Building for Production

npm run build           # Combines merge_services, TypeScript, and Vite build

Note: The build script runs tsc && npm run merge:data && vite build automatically

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🏛️ Los Baños Government Structure

Executive Branch

• Mayor: Chief executive officer of the municipality
• Vice Mayor: Presiding officer of the Sangguniang Bayan and mayoral successor
• Municipal Departments: Administrative offices implementing municipal programs

Legislative Branch (Sangguniang Bayan)

The Sangguniang Bayan is the legislative body of Los Baños, composed of:

• Vice Mayor (Presiding Officer)
• 8 Regular Councilors (District representatives)
• 2 Ex-Officio Councilors (ABC President and SK Federation President)

Key Departments

• BPLO: Business Permit and Licensing Office
• MTO: Municipal Treasurer's Office
• Assessor's Office: Property assessment and taxation
• Engineering Office: Infrastructure and public works
• MPDC: Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator
• LCR: Local Civil Registry
• Municipal Health Office: Public health services
• Municipal Agriculture Office: Agricultural programs

See the Government Directory on the live site for complete department listings and contact information.

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Join the Grassroots Movement

We are looking for volunteers passionate individuals who want to make Los Baños a better place. You don't need to be a developer to help!

How You Can Contribute:

1. Non-Developers: Visit the /contribute page on the live site to suggest new services or fix outdated information using our simple web form.
2. Developers: Check the Issues tab for "Help Wanted" or "Good First Issue" labels.
3. Data Auditors: Help us verify community submissions on GitHub to ensure the portal remains an authoritative source of information.
4. Translators: Help translate the portal to Filipino and other Philippine languages by working on public/locales/ files.

Development Workflow

• Follow Conventional Commits (enforced via commitlint)
• All PRs run ESLint and Prettier automatically
• E2E tests run on CI to ensure cross-browser compatibility

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🚢 Deployment

Production Deployment (BetterLB)

BetterLB is deployed on Cloudflare Pages with:

• Frontend: Vite build automatically deployed on push to main branch
• Backend: Cloudflare Pages Functions for API endpoints
• Database: Cloudflare D1 (betterlb_openlgu) for legislative data
• Search: Meilisearch instance for fuzzy search
• KV Storage: Weather data caching with automatic updates

Deployment for Other LGUs

When deploying for your own LGU:

1. Cloudflare Pages: Connect your GitHub repository
2. Environment Variables: Configure your D1 database binding
3. Custom Domain: Set up your custom domain (e.g., betterlgu.gov.ph)
4. Database Migration: Run database migrations on remote D1 instance
5. Meilisearch: Deploy your own Meilisearch instance or use alternative search

See ARCHITECTURE.md for detailed deployment strategies.

License and Data Sources

Code License

This project is released under the Creative Commons CC0 dedication. The work is dedicated to the public domain and can be freely used, modified, and distributed without restriction.

Data Attribution

BetterLB aggregates data from multiple sources:

Data Source	Type	Attribution
Municipality of Los Baños	Official government data, services directory	Public domain
Philippine Government Procurement Portal (PhilGEPS)	Procurement bids and awards	Republic of the Philippines
Department of Budget and Management (DBM)	Financial releases	Republic of the Philippines
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)	Infrastructure projects	Republic of the Philippines
Official Gazette of the Philippines	Legislative documents reference	Republic of the Philippines

Note: Data is presented as-is and may not reflect the most current information. Always verify with official LGU sources.

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📞 Contact and Support

For Los Baños Residents

• Website: https://betterlb.org
• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or suggest features at github.com/BetterLosBanos/betterlb/issues
• Community: Join our community contributions via the "Contribute" page on the portal

For Other LGUs

• Forking Guide: See FORKING.md for detailed instructions
• Architecture: See ARCHITECTURE.md for system design
• Documentation: See docs/ for comprehensive guides

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Built by the community, for the community. Cost to the People of Los Baños = ₱0

A proud fork of BetterGov.ph 🇵🇭