1 week ago
6
RESIDENTS of Rapu-Rapu town in Albay will now be able to experience electricity in their area after the National Electrification Administration and the Albay Electric Cooperative turned over solar electrification units to 257 households in the town.
Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co led the electrification program supported by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In a statement, Co, who proposed the program while he was still the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said that the project will "put an end to the suffering of our countrymen and the darkness in their places."
"The power of solar energy is changing lives. It's not merely the electrification of their houses, rather it's about giving them dignity and hope after years of living in darkness at night," Co added.
Residents of Rapu-Rapu like Emy Berba, an online teacher, and Loreta Bola, an elderly resident, said that the solar panels are not just electricity but also a symbol of change.
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"I used to travel to Tabaco City using a small boat just so I could work as an online teacher," said Berba. "Now, I can work here in the house. I can tutor my Korean students without leaving my family."
"Our only source of light was a gas lamp. Now, we have solar lights, we no longer need the gas lamp. We are safer, and we have hope that next time around we will have a power line already," said Bola.
Each household received a solar home system that is equipped with solar panels, four light bulbs, cell phone charging ports, transistor radio, battery storage and inverter.
Residents would only have to pay a P7 per day maintenance fee, which would ensure sustainability, while the installation and equipment is provided free of charge.
Co said that out of the 12,000 solar units to be distributed across the country, 1,000 are allocated for Albay, and he ensured that the remotest area in the country will have electricity for their houses.
Aside from Rapu-Rapu, 50 households in Sitio Dinagsaan, Hacienda, San Miguel Island in Tabaco City also received the solar kits.
"This is the administration's solution to the lack of electricity in communities in other islands, top of the mountains and those with no power lines. This is the President's way of giving dignity to those who leave in darkness," Co said.
