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NewsTranscript
00:00 It's 2024 but there are still many places in the country that are not connected to any grid of electricity.
00:08 At the latest, the Department of Energy, almost two and a half million households in the country
00:14 are still in the dark until now, something that the government is already doing.
00:20 This is the special report that was presented by Mav Gonzalez.
00:24 [Music]
00:32 The couple, Renante and Evelyn, are busy with housework.
00:36 It's already evening and when it gets dark in Sitio Malpa in Bungabon, Nuevo Ecija, everything stops.
00:42 There is no electricity line here and they rely on a small solar panel.
00:46 We only use electricity here.
00:49 Only electricity? Electric fan?
00:51 No, ma'am.
00:52 How do you charge your cell phone?
00:55 We use a barrio.
00:57 It's really hard.
00:58 Yes, ma'am.
00:59 You have to go far to charge your cell phone.
01:02 Yes.
01:03 There is a single light bulb in the middle of their house.
01:06 What if you get a storm here?
01:09 It's weak, ma'am. We will use a flashlight.
01:17 The heat in their place is high.
01:20 The temperature is around 40 degrees Celsius.
01:22 So, when it's just right, they go outside their house before their grandchild comes.
01:28 Their neighbors also have to hurry to get electricity because they are chasing the light.
01:35 When it gets dark, they can't work.
01:37 We have to work the next day.
01:39 How hard is it that you don't have electricity here?
01:43 It's hot all the time.
01:45 We have been working for a long time.
01:47 Yes.
01:48 We don't have electricity.
01:49 When we go out, we just go out of our house.
01:53 But it's harder at night because Evelyn is holding on to the flashlight while cooking.
01:58 Okay, ma'am.
01:59 But it's obvious that Chumalpa is looking for a job because they are already installing poles
02:07 of Nueva Ecija Electric Cooperative II Area 2.
02:10 From the main road, they will build a pole of 3 kilometers to go to Barangay Santor.
02:15 The houses here are far from each other.
02:17 So, for a long time, they use off-grid power or just install solar panels.
02:23 But now, for the first time, they can reach the real power line.
02:28 According to the Department of Energy, as of June 2023,
02:36 there are almost 2.5 million households without electricity in the Philippines.
02:41 More than half of them are in Mindanao.
02:44 But this is still based on the 2020 census.
02:46 So, it's clear that the real number is higher.
02:49 Moving target because if a certain site will be energized,
02:53 people tend to move towards the development.
02:57 Taking the saying that power precedes progress,
02:59 whether farmers, IPs would then tend to locate themselves near
03:05 the place or situations where it is already energized.
03:09 It's important that not only progress is important, but also security.
03:14 According to a study by professors from New Zealand and UK,
03:18 the incidence of crime increases when there is no electricity
03:21 because security systems are not working.
03:24 But this is not the end of the effect of the lack of electricity.
03:28 Based on the study of the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies
03:33 and the data of the Department of Education in 2015,
03:36 the performance of the National Achievement Test of elementary schools with electricity
03:40 is higher than that of those without electricity.
03:44 The score of secondary schools with electricity is higher than 10%.
03:49 Food safety, transportation, economy, and health are also affected by electricity
03:54 according to the International Energy Agency.
03:57 That's why the government's aim is to provide electricity to all corners of the country.
04:02 In the town of Santa Rosa in Nueva Ecija,
04:05 the SITYO Vinuya was formally lit in Barangay Solidad
04:08 and SITYO Patindig Araw in Barangay Rahalsur this June.
04:12 That's why Marilyn is very thankful.
04:15 They have been living in the middle of the forest for 15 years,
04:18 but only now they experienced electricity.
04:20 All the housework was done easily.
04:22 Yes, just like...
04:24 Especially washing, ma'am.
04:26 Of course, there is washing now.
04:28 You can do it simultaneously.
04:30 While washing, you cook.
04:32 My children are more educated because they are enlightened,
04:37 unlike before.
04:39 Yes. How did they do it before?
04:41 We started in Sulo, if you know Sulo.
04:45 Yes.
04:46 The motor's battery followed there, 12 volts.
04:50 Then it became solar until electricity.
04:54 Now, they have an electric fan and washing machine.
04:57 She hopes to have a rice cooker and refrigerator.
05:01 Even though the line is there,
05:03 some still can't connect electricity.
05:06 In the middle of the forest is the house of a grade 8 student,
05:13 Sherlyn, with her grandparents.
05:15 There's a single light outside the house.
05:18 But because it's raining and their solar panel was not charged enough,
05:22 it will only last for 6 hours.
05:24 I didn't have online classes there.
05:27 We don't have Wi-Fi there, so I'm using a modular.
05:30 Modular too?
05:31 Yes.
05:32 It's not that hard.
05:33 I just use a flashlight.
05:35 Her grandmother feels sorry for them.
05:37 They don't have a budget to connect electricity.
05:40 It's really hard for my grandchildren who study without electricity.
05:45 We can't afford to go there.
05:51 How much should we pay?
05:54 I think it's around 10,000.
05:57 Sherlyn is patient in her studies while waiting for electricity.
06:02 I have a dream.
06:04 I see that my parents are giving me what I need.
06:11 What's your dream?
06:13 I want to be a flight attendant.
06:15 How much will it help you if you have electricity?
06:19 It will help me a lot because I don't have to go far to charge it.
06:24 More than 8,000 sites are waiting for electricity in the country.
06:28 But NEA has a target of when it will be available.
06:32 I gave an audacious promise to our president that by 2028,
06:39 NEA would try its best to energize the whole of the Philippines
06:46 before the term of President Bongbong Marcos ends.
06:49 I believe we are on track.
06:51 The electricity that we all need for our daily life
06:57 is still a privilege for many of our countrymen.
07:00 I hope that the dream of reaching the Pacific Ocean
07:04 will not be left behind in 2028.
07:08 For GMA Integrated News, I'm Mav Gonzalez,
07:12 for Tutok, 24/7.
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07:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]