The local government of Manila received a total of 235 units of 50-inch smart television and P30 million worth of medical instruments from International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI).
The smart television units will be installed in each of the classrooms at the Rosauro Almario Elementary School (RAES) in Tondo, Manila, while medical instruments will be donated to the Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center (GABMC) which is also located in Tondo.
In her short message, Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan thanked ICTSI Chair and President, Executive Vice President Christian Gonzales and Foundation Deputy Executive Director Filipina Laurena for the generous donation to the newly rehabilitated and 10-storey RAES which will benefit about 7,000 students from the populous district of Tondo.
"Napakaswerte po ng RAES.... 11 lang po ang naibigay naming TV e ang daming classrooms. Sinagad ng ICTSI foundation, may 50-inch Smart TV nang mai-install sa classrooms. Lahat ng classrooms ay magkakaroon na (RAES is very lucky.... We only gave 11 TVs before and that covered a lot of classrooms. The ICTSI foundation gave a lot of units which will be installed in all the classrooms)," Lacuna-Pangan said.
"Ayon sa experts, ang paggamit ng Smart TV ay lubos na nakapagpapahusay sa ugnayan ng mag-aaral sa pamamagitan ng visual aid. Dati mga paper, cards, illustration boards pero ngayon hi-tech na talaga, para din mapanatili ang interes ng mga mag-aaral (According to experts, the use of Smart TV can greatly improve the student's learning experience through visual aid. It used to be papers, cards, and illustration boards, but now it's really hi-tech to keep the students interested in their studies)," the mayor noted.
She cited the school management's need to embrace the modern and innovative ways of teaching the students.
"Kami po sa pamahalaang-lungsod ay di mahihiyang manghingi. Alam nyo naman na di sapat ang pondo natin kaya masuwerte tayo at may mga kaibigan tayong gaya ng foundation na ni minsan ay di kami hinindian (We in the city government are not hesitant to ask for help. You know we don't have enough funds so we are lucky that we have friends like this foundation who have never denied us)," Lacuna-Pangan said.
"Sana ay lalong mapalawak ng ating mga guro ang pagtuturo sa paaralan... Salamat sa inyong busilak na puso at muli ang aming taos-pusong pasasalamat. Makakaasa po kayo na ang amin pong mga paaralan ay talagang magsisikap na maitaas ang antas ng edukasyon (I hope that our teachers can expand the teaching in schools... Thank you for your eager heart to help. You can hope that our schools will really strive to raise the level of education)," the local chief executive added.
The mayor called on the faculty members to take good care of the new television units being provided to them.
"Sa mga guro na magsispaggamit ng Smart TV, ang pakiusap ko ay ingatan po natin ito dahil hindi lahat ng oras ay may mabubuting tao na tumutulong sa atin (To the teachers who will use the Smart TVs, my plea is that we take care of them because not all the time there are good people to help us)," she said.
The RAES building was inaugurated by the mayor in January. It houses 227 fully-airconditioned classrooms, 12 offices, new library, canteen, auditorium, gymnasium, two outdoor basketball court with retractable goal and convertible to football field, two roof deck outdoor sport and exercise area, eight elevator units with 24 persons capacity each and seven stairs nodes.
Apart from the RAES, the city government has also undertaken the rehabilitation of the Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School and Manila Science High School.
Meanwhile, Lacuna-Pangan announced that ICTSI also extended help to one of the hospitals being run by the city.
She shared that the GABMC under Director Dr. Ted Martin also received a donation of medical instruments for its ear, nose, and throat (ENT) department.
The said donation, according to the mayor, is worth P30 million and are comprised of top-of-the-line medical instruments.