CONVERGE EXTENDS FREE CONNECTIVITY, LEARNING TABLETS IN PAMPANGA IN SUPPORT OF CDC’S PAGSASARILI PROGRAM 

Leading fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and the city government of Mabalacat for the extension of free connectivity and provisioning of learning tablets to select schools in Pampanga. 

Converge Founder and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said the company has always endeavored to enhance the e-learning capabilities of the education sector and aid the promotion of digital inclusion, especially among Indigenous Peoples (IPs) communities.

“Education has changed a lot during the pandemic. Overnight, classrooms went online, and many students and teachers without the access to technology, fell behind,” said Uy. “In the last two years, Converge has partnered with several LGUs and educational institutions to bridge this gap. Education is the key to a brighter future for the next generation,” said Converge CEO and Co-Founder Dennis Anthony Uy.

In support of CDC’s Pagsasarili program, Converge has provided 100 units of learning tablets and a minimum of 100 Mbps of free fiber connectivity for the use of students at Pagsasarili Centers in Marcos Village and Sitio Calapi in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The Pagsasarili Family Care Center is a program of CDC, in partnership with OB Montessori, launched in 2019 as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative to provide access to education to nearby IP communities.

“This program has both immediate and long term objectives. Immediately, we want to diminish the drop-out rate of children in school. The long term objective is to develop a community within the Aeta (indigenous people) that will be self-sustaining and will be connected to the larger economy,” said past CDC Chairman and Project founder Ping de Jesus, now Converge Chairman.

Last year, Converge also turned over 60 learning tablets and nine large format displays (LFDs) to Aeta students under the said program. 

“Hopefully when our children move up, they will be successful and they learn the value of sharing back their talent or wealth to where they came from,” noted CDC President Atty. Agnes Devenadera.

This initiative is in line with the sustainability commitment of Converge to create a positive impact on communities, maximizing the power of technology to uplift and empower the lives of Filipinos, especially in the birthplace of Converge – Pampanga. 

An Ecosystem for Innovation

Pampanga has been the launching ground for smart and sustainable initiatives for Converge, such as the smart city project which uses the company’s fiber broadband connection to power up their city surveillance system. This has been a great help in crime prevention, emergency response and traffic management.

The Tech City – a personal investment of Uy – is envisioned to be an innovation hub for the  training, skills development, and local employment of technology-minded Pampanguenos. Already, Uy has bought a 200-hectare property in the Mexico-Angeles boundary of Pampanga and he’s now wooing locators to put up businesses there – including large tech companies – and realize his dream of creating an ecosystem of technology.

“As the world continues to change, Pampanga will always be at the forefront of innovation. In fact, Clark is one of the first smart cities in the Philippines,”  added Uy. 

“What Dennis Anthony Uy is doing in ICT development in Pampanga is a milestone. This is for the digitalization of the whole country, that will be cascaded to the grassroots and to the citizenry,” said CDC Chairman Hon. Ed Pamintuan, during the ceremonial signing ceremony. 

“We’d like to thank Dennis, the city of Mabalacat is with you in all the activities and initiatives you want to do within our province,” said Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo. 

Uy said the Philippines has the potential to be an investment hub given its strategic location in Asia especially for hyperscale companies looking at cloud services and data center infrastructures in the Philippines. 

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