LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA – The Municipality of Los Baños is gearing up for the official launch of the “Rizal Classrooms of the Future” (RCOF) program and the accompanying “eRizal Tablets” on 19 June 2026, coinciding with the 165th birthday celebration of the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
In preparation for this landmark event, the Municipal Government, through the leadership of Mayor Neil Andrew Nocon, the Department of Education (DepEd) representatives, and the Organizing Committee conducted a comprehensive pre-launch training event at the University of the Philippines Open University in Los Baños on Friday, November 21. The RCOF Teachers Training held at the UP Open University campus, had former NEDA Secretary and EDCOM2 Adviser Dr Cielito Habito as keynote speaker. The training focused on equipping local teachers, administrators, and coordinators with the knowledge needed to successfully integrate these new learning environments.
The RCOF is a flagship municipal initiative that aims to revolutionize education in Los Baños by seamlessly integrating cutting-edge educational technology and future-ready pedagogical practices.
Further reinforcing the project’s strategic implementation and the municipality’s commitment to gender-responsive education, it has been announced that Global Women Who RULE (GWWR) honoree Ms. Jan Chavez-Arceo has joined the Los Baños GAD Council Executive Committee (Execom) and the RCOF Technical Working Committee (TWG).
Ms. Chavez-Arceo was a part of the pioneering team in 2011 that worked alongside Mayor Neil Andrew N. Nocon when he was a still a Provincial Board member of Laguna. Her experience as an educator for almost thirty years being a co-founder and Vice President for Academic and External Affairs of a twenty-eight year old school with more than twelve thousand students, as well as chairman/CEO of a devsec firm Impact Solutions Institute of the Philippines (ISIPhil), make Chavez-Arceo a valuable member of the RCOF team.
Chavez-Arceo’s return as a member of the Los Baños LGU GAD Council ExeCom and RCOF TWG member also leverages her extensive background in gender and development (GAD) mainstreaming and ICT education, bringing invaluable historical knowledge and specialized expertise to both the RCOF project and the broader GAD initiatives.
The eRizal Tablets and Local Innovation
A central component of the RCOF initiative is the “eRizal” tablet. This program was initially mandated by Laguna Executive Order no. 17, series of 2010, issued by the Provincial Government under the vision of current Mayor Nocon. The goal is to move beyond traditional textbooks by providing high school students with digital tools that can save digital books and educational resources.
The tablet is named after Dr. Jose Rizal to symbolize the core values of education, innovation, and critical thinking. A key innovative aspect is that these gadgets are locally made, inspired by former Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon’s vision of providing every public school student in the Philippines access to accurate digital textbooks.
Embracing AI in Education
The training event addressed modern educational challenges, including the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the classroom. Jenielyn Padernal, Global Director of Training and Implementation for Cypher Learning and NEO LMS, assured attendees that teachers who embrace technological change cannot be replaced by AI.
“These [tools] remain neutral until we use them,” Padernal noted, emphasizing that AI and digital tools will not replace the essential, human-driven role that educators play in guiding students.
A Holistic Classroom Ecosystem
According to U.P. Open University Professor Ari Halos, the project is envisioned as far more than a hardware deployment. It introduces a fully integrated classroom ecosystem—each component thoughtfully named after individuals closely connected to Dr. Jose Rizal—to symbolize a holistic and values-driven approach to education:
- Paciano IT Backbone – the core infrastructure that powers all digital operations.
- Soledad Software Package – a complete suite of learning and productivity tools for students and teachers.
- Narcisa Instructional Leadership – capacity-building programs focused on school leadership, governance, and effective implementation.
- Trinidad AI Integration Hub – the gateway for introducing AI-assisted learning and intelligent classroom tools.
- Teodora Alonzo Classrooms – modern, well-equipped learning spaces designed for inclusivity and innovation.
- Francisco MOOE System – a streamlined platform for managing Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses with transparency and efficiency.
Together, these components form a unified educational ecosystem designed to upgrade learning environments, strengthen leadership, and support long-term digital transformation in schools.
Supporting the ARAL Program
The RCOF initiative also strongly supports the Department of Education’s (DepEd) existing “ARAL” Program (Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning). This national intervention aims to address learning gaps and losses exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring targeted support in literacy and numeracy skills for all learners.
The Municipality of Los Baños continues to lead the way in innovative local governance, leveraging technology and expertise such as that provided by Ms. Chavez-Arceo’s return—to build a future-ready educational environment for its youth.
Mayor Nocon is reassured with Ms. Arceo-Chavez on board, given that she is not only an educator but her long-standing work as a gender and development champion and her advocacy for safety and protection of women and children from the risks in cyber space and use of digital technologies is untenable.
Senate Education Committee Chairman, Senator Bam Aquino released a statement recognizing the LGU’s RCOF initiative “sets an excellent example in addressing the education crisis” and heeding the call of DepEd for LGUs to assist in addressing the literacy and numeracy problems among Filipino grade schoolers. He further added that “we commend their use of technology like the Rizal Tablet to help Los Baños teachers and learners become future-ready.”
About the Municipality of Los Baños:
Los Baños is a first-class municipality in Laguna and is nationally distinguished as the Special Science and Nature City of the Philippines. Known for its leading institutions in education and research, as well as its rich ecotourism landscape, the municipality champions sustainable development and progressive governance.
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