The Municipality of Magsaysay is located at the Cuyon islands which consist of 8 mainland barangays, the three barangay islands. The two islands Cocoro and Putic, are the most visited islands within the town. The scenery, peaceful surroundings, and uncrowded make tourists love the place.
The barangays on the mainland have street lights that are connected to the PALECO (Palawan Electric Cooperative). An electric utility company that is located in Puerto Princesa that supplies several municipalities in Palawan. But do you know that there are still barangays in the Municipality of Magsaysay that have no electricity? As these barangays ( Alcoba, Canipo, and Cocoro) are island barangays, there are no electric companies established in their areas. The local residents of these barangays use generator sets to produce electricity in their households.
In response to the residents' concerns regarding the dark road or streets at night, a solar panel was installed for streetlights. On April 19, a total of 30 solar panels were installed at Lucbuan, Rizal, and Los Angeles, Magsaysay, Palawan.
Technology has helped us in many ways, it makes our living easier. There are various appliances invented that have assisted us in our daily lives. One of these is the solar panel. The solar panels are used to produce energy from the sunlight that will be converted to emit electricity. According to Wikipedia, a solar panel, or photovoltaic (PV) module, is an assembly of photovoltaic cells mounted in a framework for installation. Solar panels use sunlight as a source of energy and generate direct current electricity.
In an interview of Mr. Mark Lorenz G. Rabang to Municipal Engineer of Magsaysay, Engr. Ma. Cindy G. Omapas, stated “Since kami ay 5th municipality na IRA dependent. Ngayon out of 8 mainland barangays, 4/8 ang may existing solar street lights. Magdadagdag po kami sa Emilod at Lacaren before the end of 2021 we will have 6/8 barangays with solar street lights. By 2022 plano na pondohan ang 3 island barangays (Brgy. Alcoba, Canipo, and Cocoro) and the remaining 2 mainland barangays (Balaguen and Igabas).
“These projects are part of our development strategies to cope up with climate change and disasters. It is included in our newly formulated CDRA (Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment) and CDP (Comprehensive Development Plan). The CDRA informed CLUP (Comprehensive Land Use Plan) for their plan and was revised and implemented under the administration of Mayor Abrea.” Omapas added.
The project for street lighting is under the IABANTE program. The IBANTE Program aims to give “Ligtas at maliwanag na kalsada para sa lahat.” Through this streetlights program, the residents will not worry about walking through darker areas in the streets. The fund for this project came from the 20% developmental funds and jointly implemented by the Office of the Mayor, Municipal Planning and Development Office, and Municipal Engineering Office.
From 2019 to 2020, there have been 82 functional solar street lights installed and another 60 units will be added from the 2021 developmental fund.
Office of the Mayor Magsaysay, Palawan
