{"id":44441,"date":"2021-07-16T09:41:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T01:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=44441"},"modified":"2021-07-16T09:41:33","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T01:41:33","slug":"pldt-smart-support-cebu-city-lgu-vaccine-drive-in-mountain-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2021\/07\/16\/pldt-smart-support-cebu-city-lgu-vaccine-drive-in-mountain-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"PLDT, Smart support Cebu City LGU vaccine drive in mountain communities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Supporting the government\u2019s call, PLDT and Smart have enabled the Local Government of Cebu City to bring vaccines to hard-to-reach communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, PLDT and Smart have enhanced their integrated network to better serve customers. This enhanced network has allowed PLDT and Smart to enable government-led advocacies that largely benefit communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis COVID-19 health crisis has been a painful period for all and the arrival of these vaccines is a ray of hope.  Working with our government to deliver fast and reliable connectivity in COVID vaccination facilities situated in remote areas is priority for us at PLDT and Smart.  I believe that the sooner we get these vaccinations done, the more lives we will be able to save, and the quicker we can revive our economy and recover as a nation,\u201d said Alfredo S. Panlilio, President and CEO of PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A resident from Brgy. Taptap poses at the photo wall after being vaccinated<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enabling vaccination innovations in rural areas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cebu City LGU is planning to vaccinate 700,000 Cebuanos against COVID-19 virus. However, this can only be achieved by bringing the vaccines closer to residents, especially those residing in mountain barangay communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Cebu City Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Ibones, the move to bring the vaccines closer to residents in far-flung communities resulted from reports on residents’ sentiments about their fears towards the after-effects of the vaccines, as well as the difficulties they have encountered in signing up for their schedules and in travelling to the city and back to get their jabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another major concern was the availability of reliable signal and connectivity in the chosen locations where make-shift vaccination facilities will be situated. The pre-vaccination processes require connectivity because the database can only be accessed via the LGU\u2019s designated website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashley Ramirez, one of the encoders from the Vaccination Operation Center (VOC), has shared that Smart\u2019s availability in the mountain barangays fast-tracked the pre-vaccination process. \u201cWe are thankful that the support of Smart has reached even far-flung communities. Connectivity is normally a challenge in the mountain barangays, but Smart\u2019s coverage has reached long distances. We were able to accommodate a lot of residents who wanted to get vaccinated,\u201d shared Ramirez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many residents were also glad to receive their jabs at the vaccination sites in mountain barangays due to their accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Estoya, a resident from Barangay Busay, expressed his enthusiasm when he learned about the initiative. \u201cI had COVID-19 a few months ago. I stopped working as a delivery rider for 2 months after the results. When I learned about the vaccination drive, I made sure to get vaccinated. I am so thankful to the LGU and the partners behind the initiative, more people in the mountain barangays will now be protected from the virus,\u201d shared Estoya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the partnership, PLDT and Smart have provided connectivity, tarpaulin signages, promotional freebies to the following sites that also cater to other neighboring barangays: Don Bosco Technological College-Cebu (DBTC), CREMDEC Training Center at Barangay Taptap, Barangay Bonbon Gymnasium, and NOAH Complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur partnership with Smart has made our thrust to vaccinate Cebuanos more efficient, easy and fast. Smart\u2019s reliable connectivity enabled a seamless process for registration and reporting. We are truly grateful for the support. We look forward to more partnerships and engagements with Smart, a company that has a heart for public service,\u201d says Cebu City Councilor Philip Zafra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wireless Network Superiority in Mountain Barangays<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, Smart’s mobile network serves over 96% of the country\u2019s population from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, including mountain barangays in Cebu.  Enabling these services is PLDT\u2019s fiber infrastructure, the most extensive in the country at more than 478,000 kilometers as of end-March 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLDT and Smart\u2019s relentless push to provide connectivity for all is aligned with the group\u2019s long-standing commitment to help the Philippines attain the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, PLDT and Smart have enhanced their integrated network to better serve customers. This enhanced network has allowed PLDT and Smart to enable government-led advocacies that largely benefit communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":44442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[2550,379,343],"class_list":["post-44441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-corporate-social-responsibility","tag-pldt","tag-smart-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}