Davao Light energizes 300 households in Barangay Malabog
Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. (Davao Light), an AboitizPower subsidiary, energizes 10 sitios and lights over 300 households in Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District.
A ceremonial switch-on was conducted at the barangay gymnasium last May and was participated by the officials of the power utility, officials from the City Government of Davao, the barangay council, and residents of the barangay.
Barangay Captain Jessielito Areja expresses his thanks to Davao Light and the City Government of Davao. “We’re very lucky in Brgy. Malabog as our sitios are now 90% energized! Even the sitios with no constructed roads yet now have electricity,” he stated in his speech.
Julius, a resident from Sitio Taloytoy says that there has been a difference in their work productivity after having electricity. “Since it becomes too dark in the evenings, we need to eat dinner by five o’clock so we retire from working in our fields at three o’clock. Now that we have electricity, we’re able to adjust our work hours. Now, we can tend to our fields until five o’clock.”
He also added that they’re now able to buy groceries in bulk as they can now be preserved in their refrigerator.
Marlyn, a food vendor in the nearby elementary school in Sitio KTC says that they’re happy to have an extra source of income, such as selling iced water to students. She also listed the benefits of having a refrigerator to keep their ingredients fresh, as the food they will sell would quickly go bad without a refrigerator.
Meanwhile, Lilia, a resident of Sitio Binaton is a farmer who sells her harvested vegetables in Panabo and Bankerohan Market. “We’d start packing the vegetables early in the morning and then deliver them by seven o’clock in the evening. Otherwise, we need to deliver them early in the morning as there was no electricity and the roads were not fully constructed yet at that time,” she said in an interview.
Sitio Electrification Project (SEP) aims to energize sitios through on-grid electrification by connecting far-flung communities to the power grid. Davao Light continues to empower the communities it serves through SEP, which is currently 99% completed.