By Hilda Austria/PNA
ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan — Some 50 members of the Hundred Islands Paraw Operators Association (HIPOA) here accepted a solar lighting system from Team Energy Foundation, Inc. (TEFI) on Thursday.
Alaminos City Tourism Officer Miguel Sison, in an interview Friday, said this is the second time TEFI distributed solar lighting system to the Paraw operators.
TEFI is the corporate social responsibility arm of independent power producer Team Philippines Energy Corp.
Sison said the city tourism office is “very grateful,” as the project is “very useful” to the families of the beneficiaries.
“The ‘light a home’ project of Team Energy (TEFI) has a livelihood component. The beneficiaries can use the solar lighting system in their homes and at the same time as they go fish at night or use it to charge their phones while they are sailing,” he said.
The tourism officer said most of the Paraw operators belong to the marginalized sector and some of them have no capacity to afford the installation of electricity or have a hard time paying for the electric bill.
TEFI turned over to the fishermen two light bulbs and a solar panel each. The panel should be exposed to the sun for eight hours and can be used for another eight hours, Sison said.
“The lighting system, according to TEFI, can last for 20 years if taken care of properly,” he added.
