DAVAO CITY –— Some forty (40) houseolds in Barangay Compra, Liloy town iin Zamboang del Norte will have a bright Christmas starting this year as the AboitizPower and Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ZANECO) recently sealed a partnership that aims to electrify their village.
Dubbed as the “Light-a-Home”, the project will further electrification efforts in the province, especially in far-flung areas where residents continue to have little to no access to power. AboitizPower and ZANECO agreed to provide and install electrical wiring materials to the community which is within the cooperative’s franchise area.
The collaboration was forged to support the national government’s Sitio Electrification Program (SEP)which intends to connect rural communities in the Philippines to the power grid.
According to AboitizPower Vice President for Wholesale Sales Catherine Del Villar-Pasilaban,they intend to pursue more partnerships that help address various social challenges.
“We have abundant opportunities to advance communities given the number of social challenges we face,” she said “Our aim is to implement nation building programs that are cost effective and environmentally conscious in order to leave a lasting impact on the communities we serve, and the country at large.”
“We are pleased that ZANECO and AboitizPower share the same enthusiasm in realizing this goal and we are happy to have them as our partner.”
ZANECO General Manager Jordanne Chan-Antonio shared that she is excited to see the value of this project for residents of Brgy. Compra, given that access to electricity is a fundamental necessity that every family should have to enhance their way of life.
“We have always been committed to providing reliable electricity to our member-consumers and we are honored to have been given the opportunity to fulfill this mission,” Chan-Antonio added.
Compra Brgy. Captain Charlito Ruben expressed that while having stable electricity may be considered a given for some, it is a dream for others.
“We need electricity in the community to light our homes and support our livelihood. We are very grateful to AboitizPower and ZANECO for this electrification project which will surely transform the lives of everyone in the community,” Ruben said.
AboitizPower Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations Sandro Aboitiz said they look forward to powering up more communities through the Light-a-Home project.
“This is a very practical yet impactful initiative that will help uplift the lives of hundreds of families and businesses,” Aboitiz said. “The prospect of making a difference in their quality of life inspires us to bring this program to other areas and help expand the accessibility of electricity.”
Aboitiz further said that this milestone can help address energy security in the country, considering the disparity in electrification between urban and rural areas.
“Projects such as Light-a-Home keep us in tune with the needs of our communities and help us ensure that every Filipino has access to reliable electricity,” said Aboitiz. “Plus, we are particularly excited that the residents of Barangay Compra will be able to light their Christmas trees for the very first time.”
AboitizPower and ZANECO have been active in rolling out nation building initiatives that uplift the lives of Filipinos. Just last year, the two donated school equipment and facilitated the electrification of Rizal Central School in Zamboanga Del Norte, to advance the school’s quality of education.
