Bringing ICT to the hinterlands of Ilocos Sur

Gregorio Del Pilar, Ilocos Sur nestled on the slopes of the Cordillera mountains, is a historic town. This is where Tirad Pass is located, the place where a young general gave up his life in the defense of his country. And in honor of this general, the town got its name.

The people of Del Pilar are sturdy, simple, nature loving folks, hardened by the struggles of living on the Cordilleras. The people thrive mainly on farming the scenic terraced slopes. Water is abundant year round and the people can have 3 cropping seasons. Rice and tobacco are their main crops. The people of Del Pilar have simple aspirations in life brought about by their isolation from mainstream society

There are two routes leading to Del Pilar, Ilocos Sur. One is on land, a treacherous mountain trail passing the towns of Banayoyo and San Emilio, where only off-road 4-wheel drive vehicles could safely traverse and still with much difficulty. The mountain trail is usually close during the rainy season due to landslides along the route. The other route is both on land and water where only vehicles with a high wheel clearance (and much higher air intake) could safely traverse (amphibious vehicles will thrive here). This route passes through the towns of Galimuyod and Salcedo and traverses a river, crisscrossing it at least 9 times (without any bridge, that is) before reaching the town. This is the preferred route for the handful of passenger jeepneys that ply the Candon-DelPilar route because it is the shorter route. The nearest urban city is Candon (about 15 km via the river route) where the people of Del Pilar go to trade their produce and buy their daily needs.

Bringing the iSchools project to the Gregorio Del Pilar National High School is probably the most challenging experience of the ISPSC iSchools project staff since it started implementing the project in 2006. When Mr. Eduardson Tacuban, project manager of ISPSC iSchools project, visited the school sometime in May 2010 (they took the river route by the way) he decided then that the school is disqualified because of the difficulty of reaching the place. The school vehicle took a heavy battering that it had to be taken to a repair shop upon its return. But when he saw the quaint town and met the good people of Del Pilar, he somehow softened. But it was the challenge from Dr. Rafael Querubin, President of ISPSC, that settled the issue when he said, “This is where your commitment to the iSchools project would be tested.” And so with that GDPNHS was included in the list of iSchools 2009F beneficiaries.

During the community mobilization, on July 15, 2010, Mr. Romeo Berzabal, ICT coordinator of the division of Ilocos Sur, and Dr. Florante Vizcarra, VP for Planning, Research, Extension & Training of ISPSC, joined Mr. Jonathan Pagatpatan, iSchools project staff of ISPSC in the trip to GDPNHS. In attendance during the meeting were officers of the Parents-Teachers Association, student representatives and municipal and barangay officials. When they learned about the good news, they could not contain their joy and excitement. They pledged their commitment to prepare their counterpart for the project – the preparation of the laboratory room. Vice Mayor Rolando Onie, right then and there contacted the municipal engineer to visit the school and prepare the program of work.

Delivering the equipment to Del Pilar was another big challenge. How could the delivery truck reach the place? It was decided that the boxes will be dropped off at Candon City. Ms. Aurelia Ambrocio, Principal of GDPNHS, then hired one of the passenger jeepneys to haul the boxes from Candon City to Del Pilar. The delivery truck arrived at Candon City 8:00 in the evening and the transfer was completed one and half hour later. It was again a risk traveling the river route by night (jeepneys travel only during daytime), but thanks to the experienced driver, the iSchools equipment finally reached its destination and in good condition.

The installation of the iSchools equipment was done on October 11, 2010. The team composed of IT faculty members Mr. Fernando Calacal, Mr. Melvin Dato, Mr. Jonathan Pagatpatan, and 2 BSIT students reached the school uneventfully using the school vehicle. The installation started at around 11:00 AM and was completed at about 2:30 PM. To the team’s delight, all the computers were in good working condition. Except for the laptop power cord that was missing, all the equipment was accounted for. The students and teachers of GDPNHS were very excited to see their new computer laboratory. They were particularly attracted to the server with transparent casing and its cooling fan with colorful lights.

At midday, ominous dark clouds started to appear overhead. The team worked double time for fear of the coming rain. If it rains hard, the unpaved path becomes slippery, and the river rises. In such an event, the team have to stay overnight at Del Pilar. Fortunately, the team completed the installation, testing and the paper works early enough. After a hurried snack, the team traced back their route, but along the way, heavy rain caught up with them. At one point, at the last segment of the river to be crossed, the vehicle engine conked out while still in the water. Water seeped through the exhaust and the engine could no longer be started. The team trudged the waters and had a hard time pushing the vehicle to dry land. Once on dry land, the engine was finally revived after several tries when the water came out from the exhaust. And just when everything seems to be going fine, another obstacle came when as the vehicle went up a steep ascent from the river to the paved road ahead. Because the soil is soft and slippery, the vehicle could not move up, even when the team helped to push it. Thanks to three good natured boys from a nearby village, together the vehicle was pushed up to the paved road. At last, after all the ordeal, the team could go home.

True to Dr. Querubin’s challenge, the ISPSC iSchools project staff had fulfilled its commitment to bring ICT even to the remotest school of Ilocos Sur. Another school is on its way to integrating ICT in education and bridging the digital (and geographic) divide.

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