By: Jess Malabanan, InterAksyon.com
July 14, 2016 2:42 PM

APALIT, Pampanga, Philippines – Funded by the PLDT “Balik-baterya” program, a “futuristic” digital classroom with an estimated project cost of P2.5 million will soon rise at the Jose Escaler Memorial High School (JEMS) in Barangay San Juan here, the first in Pampanga if not in Central Luzon.

Announcement of the project’s timeline was made by Khristine Revadelo, Luzon regional center manager of the Philippine Business for Social Projects (PBSP), as the visionary business leader after whom it is named, PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, marked his birthday in his home province Thuesday.

The project will be erected on a 7 X 9 square meter0lot situated within the school campus. It will house 30 units of top-of-the-line computer sets with high-speed internet connection using fiber-optic.

Pangilinan spent his 70th birthday in his hometown in the company of close relatives and some executives of the MVP Group of Companies where he led the ceremonial laying of the time capsule and ground-breaking of the proposed digital classroom project.

The MVP Digital Classroom will be airconditioned and provided with gadgets conducive to e-education, such as mini-ipad and tablets and other amenities. It can accommodate 30 students and will be managed by the school faculty.

“Students in this school will have an edge as compared with other primary or secondary government learning institutions as they will be exposed and experiencing hands-on with high-speed internet-connected computers,” said one member of JEMS faculty.

“This classroom will ensure that the students of JEMS will give them access to the digital community and will provide a conducive learning environment for them,” said Revadelo.

The PBSP helps PLDT implement various projects. It constructed 26 classrooms across the country and JEMS digital classroom is the latest. It is also involved in reforestation projects and outreach activities including relief distribution in disaster-stricken areas.

The digital classroom is the second project of PLDT at JEMS. The first was a computer room equipped with seven deskpad units.

Pampanga Vice Governor Dennis “Delta” Pineda, Apalit Mayor Peter Nucom, and former mayor Juan Tetangco and school officials also graced the occasion.