San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora on Wednesday, Aug. 17, expressed confidence that the city is prepared for the return of face-to-face classes as he announced the incentives students will receive and the brand new school equipment they may look forward to.

"Mga minamahal kong mag-aaral ng 13 pambulikong paaralan ng San Juan. Para sa school year na ito, maghahandog po ang inyong Pamahalaang Lungsod ng libreng school at PE uniforms, libreng internet at WiFi sa mga paaralan at Smart TVs din sa mga silid aralan. Bigyan niyo lang po kami hanggang Nobyembre para maisakatuparan ang lahat ng ito (To my beloved students of the 13 public schools in San Juan, for this year, the city government will distribute free school and PE uniforms, free internet and WiFi in all schools, and Smart TVs in all classrooms. Give us until the month of November for all of these to be accomplished)," Zamora said.

"Tuloy-tuloy din po ang fiber optic internet connection sa inyong mga tahanan at pati na rin ang inyong mga gadgets (The fiber optic connection in your homes will still continue as well as the distribution of gadgets)," he added.

Earlier this month, Zamora said that he had a meeting with the local school board (LSB) together with the city schools division superintendent and other members of the LSB where they all agreed that the city is ready for the opening of classes.

He added that even prior to the school break, all of the city's schools have transitioned to face-to-face classes.

The mayor explained that for this month, the city government is already preparing for the full implementation of face-to-face classes in its public schools by November, including the allocation of funds for the transition, opening of new school buildings and multi-purpose halls, as well as wooden basketball courts.

On May 2, the city government announced that it has further boosted the capabilities of all free internet connections it has installed in the students’ homes.

“Ang mga libreng internet connection po sa inyong mga tahanan na ipinakabit ng Pamahalaang Lungsod ng San Juan para sa online education sa pamamagitan ng Learning Management System (LMS) ay ganap nang binuksan bilang Full Service Fiber Optic Internet Connection (All free internet connections installed in your homes by the San Juan City Government for the online education of students through the Learning Management System have been opened as a Full Service Fiber Optic Internet Connection),” Zamora said in a Facebook post.

He added that the fast and free internet connection may now be used for studying, researching, watching, connecting with loved ones, in using different apps and social media sites, and other online services and activities.

"We were able to fulfill a major campaign promise which is to make San Juan a smart city, although not yet 100 percent, but we were able to provide 1 is to 1 tablets to all our public school students, something the previous administration said was impossible. They also have dedicated fiber-optic internet connection in their homes for online education. That’s 7,000 households with modems for public school students,” the local chief said during his Manila Bulletin MB Hot Seat interview last April 4.