FREE WI-FI. Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo leads the switch-on of the free Wi-Fi connectivity at the Hermenegilda F. Gloria Memorial Elementary School on Wednesday (Dec. 1, 2021). This is the first school to receive free Wi-Fi from the joint project of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Rotary Club of Dumaguete. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow) DUMAGUETE CITY - The Department of Education (DepEd) in Region 7 (Central Visayas) on Wednesday thanked the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI), and the Rotary Club of Dumaguete (RCD) for providing the first-ever free Wi-Fi connectivity to a public elementary school here. Dr. Salustiano Jimenez, DepEd-7 regional director, expressed his gratitude during the virtual switch-on ceremony at the Hermenegilda F. Gloria Memorial Elementary School in this capital city. "This laudable activity has a great impact on the learning process among our learners, especially in these trying times that schools (are implementing) distance learning," he said. Jimenez advised the school principal, Dr. Julius Silot, and the teachers to value and take good care of the equipment, highlighting the sustainability of the project to make an impact and a difference in the life of the students. Dr. Gregorio Cyrus R. Elejorde, DepEd City Schools Division Superintendent here, who was present during the switch-on ceremony, also lauded the project, saying that its sustainability would mean having extra funds to divert to other expenses for the schools. The free Wi-Fi project is the 37th undertaking of NOCCI in Negros Oriental, but the first in this city, with the sponsor, the Rotary Club of Dumaguete, having specifically chosen the said public school. "The Hermenegilda F. Gloria Memorial Elementary School is not the priority of NOCCI and DICT as this does not qualify for their criteria of beneficiaries, specifically those tagged as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas," said Dumaguete-based businessman Edward Du, Central Visayas regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and past president of NOCCI. For his part, RCD president Leonil Genoso said it is their commitment to being part of the solution to the community and will always help the public schools in whatever way they can. Genoso turned over an undisclosed amount to three elementary pupils as the club's initial scholarship grant for the school. Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo led the switch-on ceremony, alongside officials of DICT, NOCCI, DepEd, and the Rotary Club, among others. Meanwhile, the city marked another milestone on Wednesday with the signing of an ordinance establishing free Wi-Fi connections in public places. Remollo signed the ordinance alongside Vice Mayor Karissa Tolentino-Maxino during the same activity. The mayor said the vice mayor filed the ordinance sometime in 2016 when she was still a councilor but was not acted upon due to lack of time. The free Wi-Fi project here would initially cost about PHP5 million, he said. (PNA) }