CEBU CITY, Philippines (PNA) – Residents in Gibitngil Island, off the northern Cebu town of Medellin, can expect a bright Christmas this year. The Cebu Electric Cooperative (Cebeco) 2 promised that the solar-powered lighting project on the island will become operational a week before Christmas.

Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez said they received a P10.5-million grant to install a solar energy lighting facility on the island. Cebeco 2 director Randy Perez said households that use solar power supplied by the facility will pay at least P120 a month. This is much lower compared to the P950 average monthly electricity bill in the mainland.

Lighting retrofit

DUMAGUETE CITY (PIA) – The lighting retrofit program in government buildings implemented by the Department of Energy (DoE) will soon expand to include state schools and public hospitals in the country. The expansion is seen to boost the national government’s efforts in reducing energy wasted in government offices as well as mitigate the high powers costs in the Philippines.

DoE started implementing the government building retrofit program in 35 national government agencies in Manila early this year. Under the program, older-style fluorescent lamps from 40W and 36W and magnetic ballasts are replaced with energy-efficient T5 28W lamps and electronic ballasts.

Yulin concept

ILOILO CITY (PNA) – Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog wants the “one village-one product” concept of Yulin City in China studied for possible replication in Iloilo City.

Mabilog, who attended the small and medium enterprises expo in Yulin following their signing of a sisterhood agreement last week, was impressed with the initiative where every village, with the support of the government, has its own product to develop and consequently supplies them to other villages.

The concept is similar to the “One Town-One Product” (OTOP) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), only that in Yulin the whole village down to the households is trained to work on the product.

Feeding program

ILOILO CITY (PNA) – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Office 6 is releasing the second trance budget of P133 million for the supplemental feeding program.

Sally Gayoma, DSWD Regional Office 6 in-charge for the supplemental feeding program, said they intend to release the budget to the 120 local government units (LGUs) that have not yet received full release of their allocation for the feeding program whose implementation in Western Visayas started last July.

Patrol cars

CEBU CITY (PNA) – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has given 12 brand-new patrol cars to the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 at Camp Sergio Osmeña in Cebu City. PRO 7 Director Marcelo Garbo Jr., who received the patrol cars Wednesday, said they will be used in 12 different areas in the region.

In Cebu, the recipients of the vehicles are the police stations in the towns of Alcoy, Aloguinsan, Badian, Carcar, Carmen, Consolacion, Madridejos and Talisay City. Also getting patrol cars are the police stations of Dumaguete City and Valencia in Negros Oriental, E. Villanueva in Siquijor, and Bilar in Bohol.