MVP rallies support for school electrification program

MANILA, Philippines - Businessman Manny V. Pangilinan is urging his colleagues in the private sector to support the school electrification program of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Speaking during an event of the One Meralco Foundation last Wednesday, Pangilinan stressed the importance of partnership between the government and the private sector to provide all Filipinos with access to electricity.

“We really have to help out, not only Meralco but also other foundations, DepEd in energizing public schools,” he said.

Pangilinan sits as chairman of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and its social development arm, the One Meralco Foundation.

The event, dubbed the Power of Dreams, was organized to celebrate the electrification of at least 100 schools in the country’s islands and mountains through the foundation’s school electrification advocacy. The event also served as venue for the launch of One Meralco Foundation’s energy education program and the recognition rites for the awardees of the MVP Academic Achievement Awards.

Since 2011, One Meralco provided solar technology to off-grid schools in South Cotabato and Sarangani provinces.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro thanked Pangilinan and One Meralco for its initiatives in providing electricity to off-grid schools as he bared the government’s plan to energize 6,000 schools in the next 10 months.

“We were able to prove – with the help of One Meralco Foundation – that in the Philippines, no home deserves to stay in darkness. There is something electrifying when one shares light. There is something unnerving when one keeps light to one’s self,” Luistro said.