What we built
eSalba is an offline-first emergency continuity and triage system. When a disaster knocks out mobile data, emergency reports still need to reach the LGU. eSalba is built for exactly that window: capture the report locally, triage it, and sync the moment any connection comes back.
It grew out of what we learned building SALBAR in Naga, where the problem was the same but the audience was citizens instead of local government.
The build
With roughly 12 hours of actual building time, we turned the idea into a working prototype and an 8-minute pitch video.
Huge shoutout to Edward, Eduardo, Abby, and Isabella. I genuinely couldn't have asked for a better team.
The result
We won. The awarding happened in September, months after the build, with a ₱100,000 grant for the finalist teams.
Honest notes
The event itself had serious problems. The judging criteria were never made clear, the process lacked transparency, and so much time went to waiting that a multi-day hackathon barely felt like one.
Teams deserve to know how their work is being evaluated, especially when they spend the night actually building it.
I'm grateful we won. I also hope the next one is better. Both can be true.