The Department of Education (DepEd), in partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), announced that its Digital Bayanihan program has successfully provided free internet access to public schools nationwide — especially in last mile communities.
“Thank you very much for the free Wi-Fi for all! We’re very happy and thankful because we were given hope,” said Rowena Signuit, a teacher at Salamanca National High School in Ginatilan, Cebu, during a virtual dialogue with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Education Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara, and ICT Secretary Henry Aguda.
Among the last mile schools that now have internet access under the program are those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, including Batanes, Marinduque, Tawi-Tawi, Agusan del Norte, and Apayao. These include Radagan Elementary School (Ilocos Norte), Chanarian Elementary School (Batanes), and Datu Saldong Domino Elementary School (Agusan del Norte), among others.
At Datu Saldong Domino Elementary, which Angara visited, solar panels were installed with support from the National Electrification Administration (NEA).
The school also received Starlink connectivity, Smart TVs, tablets, electric fans, and other essential learning materials through NEA and FDC Misamis Power Corporation.
“From the hills of Apayao to the highlands of Agusan, Digital Bayanihan is a movement to bridge the digital divide, light up classrooms, and bring opportunity to every Filipino child,” the official DepEd statement said.
