A family in Barangay Pangan-an, an islet barangay in Olango Island in Lapu-Lapu City, receives one of solar panel sets donated by the city government on Saturday, March 13. | Photo courtesy of Lapu-Lapu PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Residents of Barangay Panga-an, an islet barangay in Olango Island, Lapu-Lapu City will no longer spend the nights in darkness after the city government donated a solar panel set to each of the 560 households in the barangay.
The solar panel sets can help provide power to the homes of Pangan-an residents.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan said that some residents in Pangan-an were only using gas lamps at night because the islet had no electrical connection yet.
Others are paying P15 to P25 per day to some households who own a generator for their power supply.
“Pila ka tuig na ni nga problema sa mga molupyo ko asa sila ug panuga sa ilang panimalay. Adunay uban nila lamparilya ra ang gamit aron mohayag ang ilang pinuy-anan diin matag adlaw mogasto sila para sa gas,” Chan said.
(The problem of lighting up their houses has been experienced by residents there for so many years. Others are even using gas lamps so that their homes would have light at night where they will have to spend for the gas.)
Aside from the solar panel set, the city also distributes four LED lights and a smartphone connector, so that residents may charge their cellular phones.
Chan said that each solar panel set is worth P9,000, including the LED lights and smartphone connector.
READ: Olango brownouts solved with 2 new power plants set to go online
Aside from Barangay Pangan-an, Chan also plans to distribute the same to residents of Barangay Caohagan and Caubian, the other islet Barangays in Olango Island.
The city also installed 80 solar street lights to the whole area of Barangay Pangan-an.
Chan said that the budget for the post came from his own pocket, while the solar-powered street lights were donated by a private donor.
/dbs
READ: Enjoy summer in Brgy San Vicente, Olango Island
READ: In Photos: Exploring Olango Island