SENATOR Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao vowed on Friday to push for a “one student, one gadget program” to create equal opportunities for poor students.

Pacquiao said that education is a great equalizer between the rich and the poor.

The presidential bet said the government must ensure that poor students are not left behind by providing them the assistance that they need.

Helping the poor acquire gadgets they can use for online classes is necessary, he said, especially during a pandemic when in-person classes are restricted.

The senator urged the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to create long-term plans on the use of modular and digital platforms as the mode of instructions.

“I think that we have to be ready for prolonged limited face-to-face classes. Hindi pa talaga natin matitiyak kung hanggang kailan itong pandemya at ang kawawa dito ay ang mga kababayan nating mahihirap. Alam na alam ko ang pinagdadaanan ng mga mahihirap nating kabataan na gustong mag-aral pero wala silang magawa dahil sa kahirapan. Diyan ako galing kaya gagawan ko talaga ng paraan para hindi nila maranasan ang aking mga pinagdaanan,” Pacquiao said.

“We will provide every student their own devices to use for their online classes. If possible, we will also look into providing free internet connectivity to marginalized communities to use for online learning. Kailangan nating ipaglaban ito upang manalo naman ang mga mahihirap,” he added.The lawmaker said the gadgets can be funded by government savings from corruption which is estimated at P700 billion to P1 trillion a year.