SK village finally has power, potable water

A remote, upland village in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat finally has electricity and potable water, thanks to the United States and British governments.

Scott Bellard, acting deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy, and British Ambassador Peter Beckingham led the symbolic inauguration of the micro-hydro power and potable water systems in Sitio Lam-alis, Barangay Datalblao in Columbio town at the Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City the other day.

They were joined by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, B’laan tribal chieftain Agustin Dabi and Columbio Mayor Edwin Bermudez.

"The seven-kilowatt micro-hydro power system not only lights 86 households in the community but also gives them enough electricity to use refrigerators, colored television sets and inevitably karaoke machines as well," Bellard said.

The B’laan, Christian and Muslim residents of Sitio Lam-alis, which used to be a battleground of soldiers and communist rebels, banded together to speed up the construction of the micro-hydro power system funded by the US Agency for International Development under the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) program, and the spring-fed, gravity-type potable water system funded by the British government and the municipal government of Columbio.

The two projects, in support of President Arroyo’s 10-point development agenda, were implemented also with the help of the Mirant Philippines Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Winrock International.