Cebu City barangay to do Wi-Fi project over again

THE installation of free Wi-Fi sites in the mountain barangay of Buhisan in Cebu City was already 90 percent complete when the sites were hit by Typhoon Odette (Rai) on Dec. 16, 2021.

According to Buhisan Barangay Captain Gremar Barete, they were already 90 percent done with the installation in the different sitios when their efforts came to naught after the typhoon struck.

Barete said they have to start the project over again after the materials or equipment that they bought using his own money were damaged by the typhoon.

“By next year, one of our goals is to allocate a budget for this (Wi-Fi project). For this year and the year prior to this, I used my personal money in trying to establish the project. But due to the typhoon, we’re now having difficulty establishing it back. We’ll do this again gradually,” Barete said in SunStar Cebu’s “Kumusta Kap” program hosted by reporter Benjie Talisic and aired last week.

Barete said the project was supposed to help the students in the barangay who relied on the internet for their online class modules.

He said the Wi-Fi signal coverage in the barangay hall then was only at two percent, which could not accommodate the needs of students who were studying from their homes.

Barete said the Wi-Fi would also help his constituents connect with their loved ones from faraway places.

“What we did in the barangay was to buy a 500 mbps (megabits per second) data plan, which can transmit internet speed of up to 20 mbps to every sitio where residents can already make video calls. We transmitted the signals from the barangay hall using the fiber optic, but armor optic would have been better,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.

Barete clarified, however, that not all sitios in the barangay need wi-fi connectivity, especially in areas where the signal is strong.

Prone to flood, landslide

Buhisan has 30 sitios, of which 80 percent are prone to flood and landslide.

That’s why the barangay is also planning to build a riprap to protect the residents along the Kinalumsan River from a possible landslide during heavy rains.

In an event of flooding or landslide, the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Personnel (BDRRM), despite lacking equipment, has enough personnel to do search and rescue operations 24 hours a day.

When he took office in 2013, the Barangay Council was able to buy an ambulance, fire truck and five garbage trucks.

Barete admitted that the barangay still lacks a rescue vehicle, but there is one that can be used at the moment to be able to respond if needed.