Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso used almost P9 millions of his earnings from modelling fees for the purchase of tablets and donated to the poorest students from the Universidad de Manila (UDM).
The university is being run by the city government of Manila.
Domagoso on Thursday said he and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna donated the purchased tablets to the UDM through Malou Tiquia, president of the university, with a call for students to use them well and to the fullest.
Domagoso, himself a product of poverty and public school, said he is well aware of the difficulties of being a poor student who does not even know if he would be able to eat three square meals a day.
With the tablet, which is a requisite for blended, online learning brought on by the pandemic, Domagoso said he and Lacuna hope that the gadget will help the poorest of the UDM students cope with the situation.
Meanwhile, Domagoso and Lacuna opened on Thursday the walk-in serology testing area at the Ospital ng Tondo where residents, particularly in the city’s second district to which the hospital caters, may get tested for COVID-19 free of charge.
With the newest walk-in center, Domagoso said over 100 residents may get tested for purposes of early detection, isolation and treatment or merely to have peace of mind.
The walk-in test center in OsTon is the fifth to be opened by Domagoso and Lacuna, even as the drive-through free testing centers remain open and continue to test motorists for free.
In all those centers, testing for COVID remain free not only for Manilans but also for non-Manilans.
Domagoso said the city government will continue giving the free service for as long as its budget allows and will announce once the city can no longer continue the said free tests.