ILOILO CITY (PIA) — Residents from island barangays in northern Iloilo will soon have access to electricity following the groundbreaking ceremony of the P388 million Estancia-Manlot-Calagnaan-Sicugon Island Submarine Cable Interconnection Project at Barangay San Fernando, Sicugon Island in Carles, Iloilo.
House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez led the ceremony with Ayala Land Director Fernando Zobel de Ayala and local leaders.
Beneficiaries of the project include residents from Manlot Island, Barangays Barangcalan, Bito-on, Talingting, Tinigban and Punta Batuanan in Calagnaan Island, and Barangays Buaya, Alipata and San Fernando in Sicugon Island.
The project, expected to benefit more than 13,000 households on the islands, is considered the largest rural electrification project funded by the 2024 Locally Funded-Total Electrification Project (LFP-TEP) of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Electrification Administration’s 2011-2022 subsidy savings.
Implemented by the Iloilo Electric Cooperative III (ILECO-III), the project aims to electrify the islands through a submarine cable connected to the main grid.
It involves extending the 13.2KV distribution line from Barangay Dacutan, Estancia, to the three islands. The extension will use three segments of submarine cable to deliver a reliable 24/7 power supply to nine barangays on the islands.
Residents expressed gratitude to the government, noting it has been their long-time dream to have access to electricity, as they have been using solar lights and power generators.
“We are really thankful because this is really a big help for us if it will be finished already. It won’t be hard for us to do our things and this is really a great help,” Barangay Bitoon village chief Junjun Bantillo said in an interview.
Queenlyn Acupio also said the project will boost their livelihood on the island, as well as the education of their children, especially when they are studying at night.
Romualdez, in his message, emphasized no one should be left behind in the government’s goal for progress.
“In this groundbreaking ceremony, we are together in the declaration that no Filipino will be left behind in progress. This P388 million project is not just a project because it is a light of hope, a light of livelihood and a light of progress for more than 13,000 families on these islands,” Romualdez stressed.
The electrification project, set to finish within 170 calendar days, will also aid the livelihood of residents whose main source of income is fishing, improve the education of students on the islands and boost the tourism industry in the area. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
