NAGA CITY –- To deepen people’s participation in local governance, Mayor Jesse M. Robredo takes a serious consideration on putting up internet access area right at the City Hall building.

        ABC President and ex-officio City Councilor Jose Mari Mercado said the facility, once materialized, will provide a wider plane for the Nagueños wherein they can actively interact and counteract with those in the local government insofar as governance is concerned.

        Robredo’s consideration was based on his objective to zero in on the possible factors hindering active and proactive exchange of ideas from those in the community.

        The most recent initiative by the local government to make people empowerment effectively work through people participation after the i-governance program will be the internet access area adopting the wireless fidelity (WIFI) technology.

        The facility, using state of the art devices e.g. WMAX-ready Access Point and Cellular –type Antenna, can build up unlimited communication-information data coming from the city’s 27 barangays through a meshed type of connectivity.

        Nick Motos Jr. of the city’s i-governance program who recently came from ICT forum said Marikina city has invested approximately P7M for the Information-Communication Technology (ICT) infra including an HP Server which is housed separately inside the city’s Management Information System and Call Center.

        Other features of the facility which Mayor Robredo is planning to build: three transmitters that serve as redundant signal carriers to maintain several applications, including the city website; a rich-source of learning materials for learners, from downloadable video files and ready-to-use classroom tutorials, and weather and web-cast links to the internet.

        Like the Marikina’s WIFI/Internet Kiosk, the facility will provide free access to the Internet and WIFI to the city constituents.

        Naga City has been recognized as Hall of Famer in the field of Information-Communication Technology after it won for three consecutive years (2004, 2005 and 2006) as the Best City Website by the Philippine Web Awards under the auspices of the government-run National Computer Center, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the G8 Summit held at Teatrico Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan.