ONLINE SOON. A staff member of the Department of Information and Communications Technology unloads equipment in Limasawa, Southern Leyte in this July 27, 2022 photo. The package is composed of three computer units, a printer, headset, router, and closed-circuit television. (DICT photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) brought ICT services to Limasawa, Southern Leyte as the island suffered unstable internet connectivity since the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in December 2021.
DICT Eastern Visayas Regional chief Felix Tabanao Jr. said on Friday they handed over a Tech4ED Equipment package to Mayor Melchor Petracorta.
The package, turned over on July 27, is composed of three computer units, a printer, headset, router, and closed-circuit television.
The equipment will be placed at the Tech4ED Center inside the municipal hall to provide ICT services to the people.
“People of Limasawa will be given an opportunity to access the different ICT services and learn how to use computers,” Tabanao said in a phone interview.
Tech4ED stands for Technology for Education, Employment, Entrepreneurs, and Economic Development Project evolved from the Philippine Community eCenter (CeCs) Program, which seeks to establish new CeCs in municipalities with no shared internet access facilities.
It is a national digital inclusion initiative establishing eCenters that provide critical e-government and ICT-enabled services in communities with minimal or no access to information and government services.
Days after the destructive "Odette", Tabanao said the DICT in Eastern Visayas has established a critical communication lifeline on the island.
The team installed a Very Small Aperture Terminal connection to help expedite communication and relief operations on the island.
The sixth class town with a population of over 6,500, is one of the hardest hit areas by the typhoon.
Limasawa Island, the smallest town in the province of Southern Leyte is known to be the site of the First Catholic Mass in Asia, celebrated on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1521, by Father Pedro de Valderrama under the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan. (PNA)
