KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PIA) -- At least 150 households in Sitio Highpoint and Sitio Supon in Barangay San Jose, Koronadal City, will soon have solar-powered electricity courtesy of the the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) XII.
On Thursday, March 17, TESDA XII Regional Director Rafael Abrogar II led the distribution of photovoltaic system kits to 150 individuals who completed a training course in Photovoltaic (PV) Systems Installation NC II under TESDA's Project TALA in 2021.
Project TALA, RD Abrogar explained, is an initiative of TESDA under the Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (JRTF-ELCAC) to provide electricity in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
"Our Secretary, Secretary Isidro Lapeña, who is the CORDS (cabinet officer for regional development and security) for Region 12,instructed us to bring the light to these communities," Abrogar said.
This is done by training local residents in Photovoltaic Systems Installation NC II under TESDA's Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP).
After the training, each scholar, representing a household, is provided with a complete set of PV system that they will install in their households. Each kit includes a 50-watt solar module, a 12-volt battery, two LED lamps, and all other materials needed to energize a house.
Each trainee also receive allowance of P160 per day and additional P500 for personal protective equipment and P500 internet allowance.
Josephine Takwayan, a resident of Sitio Highpoint, said this is the first time that their community--about 100 households in Koronadal City's mountain boundary with the Municipality of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat Province--would experience having electricity. Most residents of Highpoint and Sitio Supon are Blaan.
"Our children won't anymore have to come down from the mountain to charge cellular phones they use in answering their class modules," she said in the vernacular. "We can also charge our radio [transistors] and be more informed of the happenings around us," she said.
Having solar electricity could also lead to lesser children born from their village, she added.
Scholar-trainees in San Jose include two septuagenarians: Elizabeth Robles, 77 years old and Letecia Machado, 74. Both accompanied by their respective grandchildren during the training course and will install the PV systems for them.
Bienvinido Solano Jr., administrator of the Provincial Training Center in Surallah said the scholar underwent training on installation of PV systems in Sitio Highpoint and Sitio Supon from September 21 to October 26, 2021.
