Residents of 23 remote sitios in central Pangasinan will soon have improved electricity through an electrification program of the National Electrification Administration (NEA). In an interview on Tuesday, Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CENPELCO) general manager Rodrigo Corpuz said they would implement the project, which is worth PHP19.2 million and funded under the General Appropriations Act of 2023. ‘The winning bidder was already awarded the project and implementation is underway. The construction of line will be more or less PHP18 million while the house wiring will be allocated with PHP1.2 million,’ he said. He added that the house wiring is given for free to 246 household beneficiaries. ‘Kasi alam ng gobyerno na sa bandang dulo ay minsan ay medyo kailangan nila ng ayuda para rito (The government knows that those who are living in remote areas need assistance, such as this),’ he said. The beneficiaries are from Bayambang, Binmaley, Bugallon, Lingayen, Malasiqui, Mangaldan towns, and San Carlos City. Corpuz clarified that all 500 barangays in Central Pangasinan are already fully energized or have electricity but due to increasing population and housing, the expanded sitios emerged. ‘Sila yong mga nagpapatayo sa dulong parte ng mga barangay kaya kailangan i-extend ulit para hindi magkaron ng service drop at sa gayon mas improved at mas maganda ang boltahe ng kuryente nila (Some residents built their houses in far-flung areas of the barangay so there is a need to extend power supply there so they won’t experience a power drop and they could enjoy a better flow of electricity),’ he said. He said the beneficiaries were chosen based on the number of households in that area. ‘The national government wanted to reach even the farthest sitios to enjoy electricity like the others but the cooperative could not handle the cost so there is this project,’ Corpuz said. Last year, 22 other sitios in the province also benefited from the project. ‘We still have (a) few more sitios lined up for next year and we hope they will again be funded,’ he said.
Source: Philippines News agency