As part of Globe Telecom’s employee volunteerism program, the company’s Corporate and Legal Services Group has furnished a Special Education (SPED) classroom for EM’s Signal Village Elementary School (ESVES) in Taguig City and held a teacher training workshop on cyber wellness.

“We wanted to extend our assistance outside the walls of our office and serve our immediate local community, which is Taguig. When we visited ESVES, we realized that while the school is well-supported by the local government, it can use a bit more help on SPED,” said Froilan Castelo, Globe General Counsel.

He added: “We also wanted to conduct the digital citizenship talks because we felt responsible for disseminating very useful information to the teachers who are already within our reach. Being considered as leaders in the school, the teachers have to be in tune with digital trends and lifestyles, so that they can teach their students more effectively.”

Made up of more than 50 legal practitioners, the team inaugurated the fully furnished SPED classroom, which includes new chairs and tables, SPED-friendly books, toys, an air conditioning unit, television unit, and other SPED-dedicated learning materials. ESVES is home to close to 40 SPED students and over 7,000 regular students.

Present during the ribbon-cutting ceremony and signing of the deed of donation were School Division Superintendent Romulo Rocena; City Councilor Mher Supan; ESVES Principal Josefina Granada; ESVES Teacher I Analyn Caburian; Globe General Counsel Atty. Froilan Castelo; and Globe SVP for Law and Compliance, Chief Compliance Officer, and Assistant Corporate Secretary Atty. Marisalve Ciocson-Co.

Likewise, more than 30 grade school teachers participated in two workshops conducted by guest speakers Atty. Jorge Franco Sarmiento on the Data Privacy Act and Kiten Dimayuga on Digital Thumbprint Program (DTP). DTP is Globe Telecom’s flagship cyber wellness education training for teachers and students. It was designed to increase the students' knowledge of digital citizenship and cyber safety by taking a critical look at their online behavior and helping them develop insights into the influences of the online world and the choices they are making.

The Corporate and Legal Services Group has been providing free legal consultation services, aid for government agency services, and plenary discussions to Globe employees for the last three years under their AttyATBP volunteering program. Over the years, Globe has consistently enabled its employees to nurture a culture of giving by assisting interested employees and departments with outreach opportunities, funding support, and even paid leaves for volunteering-related engagements.