The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials of at least three barangays in Manila have donated laptop or tablet tables and activity books to the residents of their barangays as the country gears up for blended and distance learning, a new learning set-up reliant on technology, amid the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) crisis.
In a Facebook post, Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso commended the efforts of the SK of Barangay 304, Zone 29 in Santa Cruz, led by SK Chairperson Jessel Letrago, after they donated foldable laptop and tablet tables to the students of the area.
Earlier, the SK of Barangay 342, Zone 34 also in Santa Cruz, under the leadership of SK Chairman Mark Anthony Magpantay, also made their own donation of 100 laptop and tablet tables to the barangay's students.
Meanwhile, the SK of Barangay 736, Zone 80, District V, under SK Chairperson Carolyn Collado Ingeniero, gave away activity books for the elementary students in their barangay to augment their educational materials as the opening of classes nears.
In joining the city government's efforts in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, the SK of Barangay 859, Zone 93 in Pandacan, led by SK Chairman Kyle Miguel Cabreza, distributed 500 face shields, 2,500 surgical masks, and 2,500 vitamins to their constituents.
SK officials of Barangay 859, Zone 93 in Pandacan distributed 500 faces shields, 2,500 surgical masks, and 2,500 vitamins to their residents. (ISKO MORENO DAMOGOSO OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE/ MANILA BULLETIN)
"Nawa'y ipagpatuloy niyo pa ang pagseserbisyo sa mga Kabataang Manilenyo (I hope you continue to serve the Manileño youth)," Domagoso wrote in a post on Wednesday (Aug. 12).
"Huwag kayong magsawang magsilbi sa inyong mga barangay, lalo pa at kailangan din nila tayo ngayon (Do not get tired of serving your barangays, especially now that they need us)," he added.
The Manila city government recently announced that it will distribute 11,000 laptops with pocket WiFi devices for teachers, 136,950 tablets for students, and 286,000 SIM cards with a monthly allotment of 10 GB bandwidth for both before academic year 2020-2021 opens.
Department of Education (DepEd) data showed that the country's capital led other cities in Metro Manila in terms of the number of enrollees for the coming school year.
The city government also said that the number of enrollees in the city's public schools this year is higher than last year's figure.
DepEd has announced that the opening of classes is set for Oct. 5, from the initial date of Aug. 24.