Toshiba donates 100 laptops through GILAS

MANILA, Philippines – Toshiba Corp., a staunch supporter of the Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS) project, is connecting another 10 public high schools in Laguna to the Internet.

In a turnover ceremony held at the Biñan Secondary School of Applied Academics in Biñan, Laguna, Toshiba presented GILAS with 100 brand new laptops and a check for P1 million.

This is Toshiba’s second donation to GILAS, with the first donation of the same amount and number of laptops given in February 2008.

Present at the event were Lilia de Lima, Director General of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Toshiba Corp. president Yoshiyuki Yano, Toshiba director Hiroyuki Ishida, Ayala Foundation executive vice president Guillermo Luz, and the director of its Center for Social Development and GILAS Mario Deriquito.

Nora Bambo, assistant schools division superintendent of Laguna highlighted the role of education in technology.

“Today, the education sector should keep pace in the advancement of the world in order to comply with the changing requirements of education,” she said in her acceptance speech. “It is our goal to fully utilize this grant for the benefit of our teachers especially our students who are soon the nation builders,” she said.

Biñan Mayor Lenlen Alonte-Naguiat, meanwhile expressed her commitment to sustain the project and encouraged everyone to learn how to use the Internet properly.

 “Internet has become a necessity and integrating ICT to education is becoming a global requirement. I assure you all to aid the schools in integrating ICT to education but I would also like to impose a rule that intention of Internet usage should be correct,” the mayor said.

Toshiba Corp. has been a GILAS partner since 2008.  GILAS is a social consortium composed of private corporations, local governments, legislators, schools, local communities and overseas Filipinos who support its cause.