Eastern visayas: Five local government units in Eastern Visayas have formally committed to advancing the energy transition in their localities by developing local energy plans and enacting renewable energy ordinances.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) announced that the mayors of Alangalang in Leyte; Paranas and Marabut in Samar; and Guiuan, Oras, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar signed an agreement on February 20 to implement a participatory local energy planning process.
"Each local government unit (LGU) forged partnerships with ICSC to implement a participatory local energy planning process. This aims to translate community needs and local development priorities into actionable clean energy transition plans, supported by enabling local policies," said ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz in a statement.
The ICSC highlighted the importance of this commitment for Eastern Visayas, a region experiencing power shortages that affect health facilities, communications networks, and educational services. Despite hosting renewable energy plants such as solar and geothermal, the region remains heavily dependent on coal-fired power plants, leading to some of the highest electricity rates in the Philippines, reaching PHP20.96 per kilowatt hour in 2022.
Under the signed memorandum of understanding, each LGU has pledged to align local actions with national energy mechanisms and policies, including the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act and the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Department of Energy Joint Memorandum Circular on facilitating energy projects.
ICSC is committed to providing technical assistance and capacity-building support to help LGUs conduct multi-stakeholder local energy planning, develop clean energy transition plans, craft renewable energy ordinances, and support investment mobilization. "Every signature, decision, and step that we take will serve as a symbol of our vision and collective action toward achieving a better and more resilient future for Eastern Visayas," dela Cruz added.
The organization has also pledged to support priority actions such as promoting rooftop solar adoption, developing renewable energy roadmaps for sustainable tourism, scaling community renewable energy initiatives, and conducting awareness campaigns to encourage renewable energy uptake.
