Almost all of the streets in Barangay Bugo were dark, except for one, when power went out last May 19 around ten in the evening. That street in Reyes Village Subdivision (RVS) stood out for it remained lighted. Thanks to the solar lamps.

 

Emilor Bong Cabanos, president of the Apitong Street Neighborhood Association (ASNA) in RVS, was proud to upload the photos he took of the solar lamps lighting Lower Apitong Street not for anything but so that people will appreciate how big of a help solar lamps are.

 

Solar lamps are very convenient go-to source of light during power outage. And its use has a number of implications.

 

One, they are environment friendly. Whereas the use of non-renewable sources of electricity, like fossil fuels, expands carbon footprint, the use of solar lamps lessens it. Going green by using solar lamps which are one hundred percent renewable will mitigate climate change and its impacts which are very pressing environmental concerns at present.

 

Another is that its use entails no electric power consumption. It is absolutely free. As shown in the computation provided by Cabanos, the price of solar light products plus its accessories at Php2,950 is higher than the fluorescent LED lights at Php1,777.60 but the expenses can be recouped on the third year of its use, saving up to Php782.80 per year.

 

The installation of these solar lamps in RVS, Bugo is a pilot project called RVS Pasuga Sa Kalye Project of ASNA. It was completed in September last year.

 

The association has decided to have three more lights which are solar lamps in addition to eight fluorescent lamps and two flood lights that are already there. “These (solar lamps) were installed back-to-back at the center of the street to provide wider spread of lighting illumination,” says Cabanos. With the addition of these three solar lamps, the association felt that their street is now sufficiently lighted.

 

In a message over Facebook, Cabanos cited that sufficient lighting is important in streets and corners in the barangay. For sure, this is because crimes like robbery, not to mention violation of night curfew, tend to happen in the not-so-well-lit areas.

 

The project is in coordination with the current Barangay Bugo Council through the zone coordinator Kagawad Ron Cabana. The council has showed support to this project. In fact, the barangay council promised maintenance of lights once this project expands to other streets. For its first phase of expansion, the association plans to install solar lamps on the main street of RVS going up to Villa Trinitas Subdivision.

 

With the many positive comments posted on a Facebook group this project has generated from the residents, such as “Awesome!” and “Brilliant initiative…renewable energy is the future” to name a few.

 

Indeed, the future looks bright in Barangay Bugo.