MOU SIGNING. The Perpetual Help Community Cooperative Inc. (PHCCI) signs on Friday (Oct. 15, 2021) a memorandum of understanding with the Cooperative Development Authority and Department of Information and Communications Technology for the digitaljobsPH project. In photo are CDA-Region 7 director Engr. Doreen Ancheta and PHCCI board of directors chair Romulo Amarado (3rd and 4th from left). (Photo courtesy of PHCCI)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Key officials of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on Friday assured Negros Oriental residents of benefiting in the future from a joint job generation project dubbed "digitaljobsPH".
CDA Assistant Secretary Vidal Villanueva III, Engr. Doreen C. Ancheta, CDA-Region 7 director; and officer-in-charge regional director Frederick Amores of DICT Regions 7 and 8, gave the assurance during the launching and signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Perpetual Help Community Cooperative, Inc. (PHCCI) here.
This is the first time ever in the country that DICT and CDA partnered with a local cooperative for the digital jobs program that aims to capacitate and empower people to be “tech-savvy” especially in this time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Vidal, who joined the event virtually, in his inspiration message thanked the PHCCI for “accepting this challenge” in being the first cooperative to embark on the project.
He said this is another milestone for PHCCI, which has always partnered with CDA. He added that the project will soon be the model for other cooperatives in the future when adopting the digitaljobsPH venture.
Vidal noted that digital technology in this day and age is being utilized by most companies, especially during the pandemic.
Members of the cooperative will soon be equipped and prepared for greater challenges, and this will “put them on the map as the first recipients of this digitaljobsPH project”, he said.
It will open doors of opportunities for them, he added.
The CDA official promised to cascade this program to other cooperatives in the future so more coop members will benefit from this jobs training.
Ancheta, meanwhile, said this is a “dream come true for us to participate in the Bayanihan 2, an act to heal as one”.
The project, a brainchild of Dr. Nora Patron, former CDA-7 chief, is now a reality, a dream that is put into action, she said.
“You have the skills, attitude, you have proven to be worthy of the project,” she said of PHCCI.
She said that after PHCCI, they will invite others to participate in the program.
For his part, Amores said the collaboration is timely “to provide online opportunities to our coop members who affected by this pandemic” especially as the country is already starting to reopen its economy.
“The digitaljobsPH program is not only a contributor to the economy but to the society as well,” he said, hoping that beneficiaries will share what they have learned to others to help uplift them.
The project will also be replicated in other parts of the country as he expressed optimism of a successful implementation here, Amores said.
Meanwhile, Romulo Amarado, PHCCI board of directors chair, thanked CDA and DICT for the opportunity for partnering with them in this project.
PHCCI never ceased operations, not even for a day, even when the province was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) at the height of the pandemic last year, he said.
He admitted there were fears but they had to take the risk because it was their mandate to serve the people.
Amarado thanked both agencies as he expressed optimism that despite the challenges, this partnership and determination will help the program succeed. (PNA)
