95% of RP already with electricity - govt

More than 95 percent of the Philippines is already electrified as of the first quarter of 2007, the national government said on Friday. In a ceremony held at Malacanang, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla announced that the government's expanded rural electrification program has resulted in providing power to 95.26 percent of the country. This level of electrification is one of the current administration's major goals. During the ceremony which was also attended by US Ambassador Kristie Kenny and Mirant President Jose Leviste Jr., Arroyo symbolically switched-on the 39,955 energized barangays including Barangay Balimbingan in the Municipality of Takuran, Zamboanga del Sur. Lotilla said out of the 41, 945 barangays nationwide only about 2,000 or 1, 990 have no electricity after 39,955 have now full access to electricity. The energization of the remaining barangays is expected to be completed in 2008. The provision of electric services in Barangay Balimbingan, Takuran, Zamboanga del Sur was made possible through the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy Program. AMORE is a cooperative program of the United States Agency for International Development, the Philippines' Department of Energy, Mirant Philippines Foundation, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Winrock International. The DOE has already programmed 1,106 barangays to be energized this year “We are now threading the “last mile" of our electrification program with even more challenging task given the limited government financing and the physical difficulty in reaching the remaining barangays located in far-flung areas. We must continue our work and help in enriching the lives of the people in these areas through various livelihood and development projects as well," Lotilla said. - GMANews.TV