With our commitment towards making ICT accessible even to the most isolated communities, DICT Mimaropa launched the BALSA Aralan Tech4Ed Center – the first-ever floating Tech4Ed Center built and facilitated to reach even the far-flung areas and floating villages in the municipality of Balabac, Palawan last September 12, 2022.

The Technology Empowerment for Education, Employment, Entrepreneurs, and Economic Development (Tech4ED) is a national digital inclusion initiative establishing e-Centers that provide critical e-government and ICT-enabled services in communities with minimal or no access to information and government services.

An initiative of the DICT Mimaropa with its DICT Palawan Provincial Office in partnership with the Department of Education Mimaropa, BALSA stands for ‘Boosting Access Literacy Service through Alternative Learning System’.

The launching of the BALSA Aralan and Free Wi-Fi was also followed by the Turn Over of the School-in-a-Bag, a portable digital classroom designed to facilitate learning in basic education in remote areas without electricity. ICT-empowered support from  the Huawei Philippines and PLDT Smart Foundation, the school-in-a-bag utilizes mobile technology coupled with an innovative 21st-century teaching pedagogy and K+12 content to enable learning in a mobile setup.

“Through our partnership and unifying commitment towards public service, we have brought critical services where it most matters to address the digital divide and education needs of the unserved and underserved areas, particularly for the community of Rabor, Palawan, and adjacent areas. This endeavor has made it possible for us to sustain our efforts in promoting the meaningful use of Technology for Education and the inclusive adoption of Information and Communications Technology as a platform for community development. With this partnership, we become instruments in changing lives for the better,” Ortega added.