Naga, Plastic Bank give 170 e-tablets to pupils

By Jason B. Neola

The City Government of Naga (CGN) and the Plastic Bank Philippines (PBP)have donated some 170 computer tablets to public school pupils from Grade 1 up to Grade 7, who are children of plastic bottle collectors working in the barangays of Concepcion Pequeña, San Felipe, Cararayan, Sta. Cruz, Mabolo, San Francisco, and Carolina.

Florencio Tam-Mongoso Jr., head of Metro Naga Public Employment Service Office (Metro PESO), said the mobile devices will help the learners to cope up with their classroom lessons, which the pupils find difficult due to the absence of computer gadget.

PBP is advocating a stop to the proliferation of plastics in oceans while helping to improving the lives of plastic collector communities. The plastic collectors exchange plastic wastes for food items and cash like groceries, rice, cooking fuel, school tuition, health insurance, and more.

Elmer Gomez, 49, a plastic bottle collector, thanked the CGN and PBP for the one unit of computer tablet given to his 13-year-old daughter Eliana, an incoming Grade 7 student and one of the 170 pupils who received the gadget.

Mongoso said that more privileges and bonuses await the plastic collector barangays from the partnership that CGN and PBP provided that they have to comply with certain conditions to be able to receive them.

Paul Andrew Orpiada, PBP Bicol area manager, said it was the Swiss Bank, a major partner in the advocacy, that provided the gadgets, which were directly handed to 170 pupils. He said the number of computer tablets given was based on the kilos of plastic bottles collected.