Following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Abra last Wednesday, PLDT and Smart have now activated 3 more Libreng Tawag (free calls) and Libreng WiFi (free WiFi) sites in Northern Luzon.
As of Thursday, PLDT and Smart have activated stations in the following locations:
Ilocos Sur
- Landmark Building, Jose Singson St., Barangay VIII, Poblacion, Vigan City
- Vigan Northern Alliance Trading, 3rd Floor UNP Town Center, Tamag, Vigan City
- Candon City PD Office, Corner Gaerlan and Abaya St., San Isidro, Candon
Abra
- Abra PD Office, Horizon St. Zone 7, Bangued
Benguet
- Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center, Strawberry Fields, La Trinidad
“The three new sites expand the ‘Libreng Tawag’ stations that we had set up in the region on Wednesday evening. PLDT and Smart were the first telcos to offer free call services in quake-hit Vigan City, Ilocos Sur following the tremors. We later opened another Libreng Tawag site in Bangued, Abra before midnight,” – Cathy Yang, FVP & Group Head of Corporate Communications at PLDT and Smart.
PLDT and Smart have also been working together with the local government units (LGUs) to help distribute relief assistance to impacted communities.
The ‘Libreng Tawag, Libreng WiFi’ is part of their commitment to creating a safe and smart Philippines by providing immediate response through network resilience, continuous availability of communication services, and relief assistance to communities affected by disasters.
This initiative is also in line with their commitment to helping the Philippines attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #11 which aims to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.
