E-Governance and Wifi Sites Launching in Antique, Digital Inclusion Prioritized by Sen. Legarda

Sibalom, Antique- Through the efforts of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and Antique Congressman AA Legarda, 150 barangays in Antique will benefit from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) launching of e-Governance and WIFI sites held Friday at the Paghi-USA Hall, University of Antique Main Campus in Sibalom, Antique.

The launching of the e-Governance and the activation of 150 WIFI sites which was preceded by the signing of Memorandum of Agreement(MOA) by Antique municipal mayors and DICT Secretary John Ivan Uy was witnessed by over a thousand Antiquenos including the Senator herself, Congressman AA Legarda, Governor Rhodora Cadiao, provincial board members. municipal mayors, and University of Antique President Dr Pablo S. Crespo Jr and DepEd Supervisors.

Legarda, the principal author of the Republic Act No. 10844 or the law creating the DICT, expressed, “It is fulfilling to witness another piece of legislation that I principally authored materialize. We all witness the provisions of the RA 10844 or the law creating the DICT being brought o life in our own province, [particularly the law’s mission to promote the use of ICT for the enhancement of key public services, such as education, public health and safety, revenue generation and socio-civic purposes. we call as e-governance.:

The four-term Senator furthered., ” Also with this project, we can achieve another promise of the law, which is to ensure the availability and accessibility of ICT services in areas not adequately served by the private sector. We will soon see ab improvement to the data showing that only 40 percent of Antique are connected to Globe and Smart.

Legarda pushed for the funding for the P71 million project for the benefit barangays identified as high-density areas indigenous communities, Geographically isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), schools and health centers with the goal of providing Antiquenos with better quality of life through the delivery of speedy and efficient government services to the people

The FREE WIFI service shall be done by establishing a combination of fiber optic and terrestrial wireless (microwave) based highly- speed internet service starting in San Jose de Buenavista in the south and Libertad in the north. These will be placed at high elevations for eventual distributions to the barangyas. The rest of the barangays will be installed WIFI sites in 2024, as commited by Congressman AA Legarda to his ‘kasimanwas’.

A fiber optic cabling system will be installed from Dan Jose de Buenavista to each of Antique towns, using ANTECO’s electric poles. They also intend to use solar energy for the project.