The Cordillera Has Free ICT Training Centers Operating Across Its Provinces. DICT-CAR's Tech4ED Network Is Built to Reach Every Community the Market Cannot.

The DICT-CAR describes its mission for the Cordillera plainly: build a digitally connected region where no community is left behind because of geography. In a region of six provinces, mountainous terrain, and communities separated by hours of travel from urban centers, that mission is not easily achieved. But the infrastructure being built toward it is more extensive than most residents of the Cordillera know.

DICT-CAR operates a network of Tech4ED centers and Digital Transformation Centers across the region, from the fully equipped DTC in Baguio City to community-level centers in remote municipalities in Abra and Apayao. The network is active, the programming is free, and the services are available to students, entrepreneurs, senior citizens, farmers, and indigenous community members across every province in CAR.

The Flagship: Digital Transformation Center Baguio City

The Digital Transformation Center in Baguio City is the most fully equipped Tech4ED facility in the Cordillera. Established through a formal Memorandum of Agreement between DICT and the City Government of Baguio signed in September 2021, it was the first DTC in the city and represents the highest operational tier in DICT-CAR's regional network.

The center is located at Post Office Loop, Upper Session Road, Baguio City, housed within the DICT-Benguet and DOTr-CAR building at that address. A separate Tech4ED Center also operates at the DICT Benguet Provincial Office along Session Road. Together, these two facilities make the Session Road corridor one of the most accessible locations in the Cordillera for free digital skills training and e-government services.

The DTC delivers the full range of Tech4ED services: free ICT training, digital literacy programming, e-government services, co-working access, MSME digitalization support, and AI-enabled training. In October 2025, it hosted digital literacy programming specifically for senior citizens in partnership with the Baguio City SWDO. In September 2025, it delivered AI-focused training as part of DICT-CAR's push toward more advanced digital transformation programming.

In 2026, the DTC became a delivery point for the Certified Digital Negosyo Program, a joint initiative of DTI-CAR and DICT-CAR designed to accelerate enterprise digitalization across the Cordillera. A public consultation on the proposed renovation of the DTC facility is also underway, signaling continued investment in upgrading its physical infrastructure.

Abra: Reaching Remote Communities

In Abra, DICT has brought Tech4ED programming directly into remote municipalities. A center was established at the Nagcanasan Elementary School in Pilar, Abra, specifically to bring structured digital programming to communities that have no other access to ICT training or e-government services. The reach-first orientation of the Abra deployment reflects DICT-CAR's model for geographically isolated communities: rather than waiting for residents to travel to a center, the center goes to them.

LGUs in Abra, including La Paz and Bucay, renewed their Digital Bayanihan partnerships with DICT-CAR in December 2025, maintaining active ICT programming commitments across the province.

Apayao: An Award-Winning Community Center

In Apayao, the Flora LGU Tech4ED Center won 2nd Runner-Up and the Sustainability Award at the DICT-CAR Tech4ED-DTC Awarding Ceremony held at Plaza Lodge Hotel, Baguio City in November 2024. The recognition was specifically for the center's contribution to bridging the digital divide, providing ICT-enabled services and digital literacy opportunities to out-of-school youth, senior citizens, housewives, and other underserved community members in the municipality.

The Flora center's recognition under Mayor Rodolfo B. Juan's active partnership with DICT-CAR is one of the most compelling available demonstrations that meaningful, award-worthy digital access infrastructure can be built in a rural municipality in one of the Cordillera's most remote provinces. If Flora can do it, any municipality in CAR with a willing LGU and an active DICT-CAR partnership can do it too.

The Digital Bayanihan Partnership Network

Beyond the confirmed physical centers, DICT-CAR has built a Digital Bayanihan partnership network with LGUs across all provinces of the Cordillera, renewed in December 2025 to include:

• Benguet — municipalities of Mankayan and Kapangan

• Abra — municipalities of La Paz and Bucay

• Mountain Province — municipality of Bontoc

• Kalinga — municipality of Tanudan

These partnerships formalize the delivery of ICT-enabled services, digital skills programming, and e-governance support at the municipal level, extending the network's reach beyond the physical centers into LGU-partnered service points across the region.

The Connectivity Layer

Physical centers are only part of the picture. DICT-CAR has simultaneously been building the connectivity infrastructure that makes digital access meaningful in communities where internet signals have historically been unreliable or absent.

As of 2025, DICT-CAR operates 498 free Wi-Fi access point sites across the region, targeting 1,490 additional access points by early 2026, covering public schools, barangay halls, and LGU facilities. Under the Bayanihan SIM Project, DICT-CAR has distributed 13,768 SIM cards to 102 schools with limited or no internet connectivity across CAR as of early 2026, each providing 25 GB of mobile data per month for twelve months. A five-year DICT broadband plan for the Cordillera is also underway, targeting 80 percent LGU broadband connectivity across the region, with rollouts phased through 2028.

What Every Center Delivers

Regardless of province or facility level, Tech4ED centers across CAR provide:

• Free ICT training and digital literacy through both in-person sessions and the online platform at tech4ed.gov.ph

• E-government services including access to online government transactions, licensing, permits, and contributions

• MSME digitalization support helping enterprises adopt digital tools, build online presence, and access e-commerce platforms

• Community-specific programming tailored to the needs of farmers, indigenous peoples, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, OFW families, and out-of-school youth

• Networking and linkaging connecting center users to government agencies, private enterprises, and financing institutions

How to Access the Network

• Baguio City DTC: Post Office Loop, Upper Session Road, Baguio City | car@dict.gov.ph

• DICT Benguet Provincial Tech4ED Center: DICT Benguet Provincial Office, Session Road, Baguio City

• Provincial and municipal centers: Contact DICT-CAR through the regional office or the DICT Cordillera Administrative Region Facebook page for the nearest confirmed active center in your province

• Online platform: tech4ed.gov.ph for remote access to free training courses and digital learning content

The network is active. The programming is free. For students, entrepreneurs, senior citizens, and community organizations across the Cordillera, the access point to the digital economy is closer than most people know.

Source: DICT-CAR | PIA CAR | GuruPress Cordillera | Philippine Information Agency | Tech4ED Portal | DICT-CAR Facebook | Wikipedia Session Road | 2021–2026