PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured Filipinos in remote areas that the government would continue to work on establishing internet connections in far-flung areas, noting that access to the web has become a post-pandemic must-have.
Marcos made the statement when he joined a Zoom call between the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the agency’s stakeholders on Monday, Dec. 26.
“Gusto kong subukan kung talagang ‘yung sinasabi sa akin ni Sec. Ivan (John Uy) e talagang gumagana,” Marcos said, calling himself a gatecrasher during the Zoom call.
“Mukha namang marami na tayong nalagyan ng bagong connection para may internet na sila ngayon… Lalo na ‘yung malalayo dahil ‘yan ang mas may kailangan, lalo na ‘yung mga bata para sa kanilang eskuwela,” he said,
“Umpisa pa lang ito. Gagawin natin ito para masabi natin na lahat ng Pinoy kayang kausapin lahat ng ibang Pinoy,” he added.
Marcos congratulated the DICT for its free WiFi project, noting that the recent connections the agency put up were “working nicely.”
“‘Yung iba’t-ibang lugar nagkaroon na ng internet kaya’t dadagdagan pa natin,” the President said.
“Buti na lang maraming bagong teknolohiya na puwede nating gamitin na we are taking advantage of para naman sa buong Pilipinas ay makaramdam tayo ng connectivity at napaka importante ngayon niyan,” he said.
The DICT’s BroadBand ng Masa Project (BBMP) seeks to roll out free WiFi connections to far-flung areas in the country.
The Philippine government earlier tapped Elon Musk’s Starlink to help provide internet services in rural areas.
As of October 2022, around 30 percent of the Philippines’ 110 million population have no access to the internet, data from the government showed. (ABS-CBN News)
