QUEZON CITY, July 29 – The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Mimaropa launched recently the ‘Free WIFI For All’ project in three sites in Benli Mangyan Settlement in Bulalacao municipality in Oriental Mindoro.

Spearheaded by DICT Director Cheryl Ortega, the activation and launching of this project was made possible in partnership with the 203rd Bantay Kapayapaan Brigade of the Philippine Army and the Bulalacao local government unit.

This breakthrough initiative is part of DICT Mimaropa's full support to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) by providing much needed telecom services in the area where commercial internet service providers are still out of reach.

This is projected to kick off the transformation of the settlement towards a productive and inclusive community of Mangyan Indigenous People benefitting from the basic services of the government agencies primarily for education, communication, employment and access to government online services among others.

Benli Settlement is an identified Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Area (GIDA) under the NTF-ELCAC and was formerly flogged with challenges in peace and order. With the efforts of the government forces through the ‘whole-of-nation approach’, the area has been cleared of insurgency.

At present, Benli settlement is showing promise of development with the support of more government programs such as that of DICT's innovative projects being continuously introduced to the community.