WHILE MORE than a thousand Philippine educational institutions struggle with lack of access to electricity, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. vowed to provide internet connectivity to all public schools by the end of the year.
Despite some schools’ lack of access to electricity, which has led to delays in adopting digital learning, Marcos said internet connectivity would be provided to all public schools by the end of the year.
During his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 28, Marcos said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and Department of Education (DepEd) are working to provide internet to almost 12,000 public schools.
“At dahil pinaganda at pinabilis natin, dadami pa ang mga bagong torre at cell sites sa mga [Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas]. Ngunit kulang pa rin ang mga ito. Halos labindalawang libong pampublikong paaralan pa ang walang internet,” Marcos said.
(And because we have improved and sped it [National Fiber Backbone project] up, new towers and cell sites in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas will increase. But this is still lacking. Almost 12,000 public schools still do not have internet.)
According to the President, free Wi-Fi sites in the country rose to nearly 19,000 from 4,000 in 2022 as DICT is halfway through the administration’s project in adding cell sites to make internet accessible across the country.
“Natapos na ang Phases 1, 2, 3 ng ating National Fiber Backbone project na magpapalakas at magpapabilis sa ating internet. Kasabay nito, patuloy pa nating pinalalawig ang libreng Wi-Fi sa buong bansa,” he added.
(Phases 1, 2 and 3 of our National Fiber Backbone project, which will improve and speed up the internet, are completed. At the same time, we are constantly offering free Wi-Fi throughout the country.)
The move is in line with the administration’s initiative to bridge the “digital gap” in classrooms, a matter he raised in his SONA last year.
In 2024, the first phase of the project provided 3,000 free WiFi sites in Regions I (Ilocos), III (Central Luzon) and National Capital Region. The second and third phases provided connectivity in some provinces within Visayas and Mindanao.
However, in the same year, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) raised the lack of electricity and proper facilities as major concerns in thousands of public education institutions in the country.
The Philippines remained as one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that suffer from lack of universal access of schools to electricity, a 2024 EDCOM 2 data showed.
Earlier this year, Education secretary Sonny Angara also said that about 1,500 public schools in remote or conflict-affected areas remained without electricity, which prompted the education agency to formalize a partnership with the National Electrification Administration to provide electrification of schools in far-flung areas of the country.
“Now power is a basic [need]. Kapag wala tayong power, wala ho tayo. Kaya iyong binibigay natin ngayon hindi lang kuryente iyan, hindi lang ilaw, pag-asa ang ibinibigay natin sa ating kababayan,” he said.
(If we do not have power, we have nothing. What we are giving is not just electricity, not just light, but hope for our people.)
Marcos added that all public school teachers would be provided with laptops to support the education sector’s transition to digitalization. The government also began to distribute SIM cards with free data in schools located in far-flung areas, he said.
“Nakahanda na ang mga high-tech at digital na mga materyales, mga smart TVs, libreng Wi-Fi, at libreng load sa Bayanihan SIM card,” Marcos said.
“Tiniyak natin na walang anomalya sa pagbili ng mga laptops na ito (We made sure that there are no anomalies in buying the laptops).”
The project, which aims to improve the Philippines’ internet structure is expected to finish its last three phases within the year. F
