Written by: Christiane Oriana
The Municipality of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, moves forward in crafting their renewable energy (RE) roadmap with a Multistakeholder Consultation held on July 23 to 24 at Marion’s Place, Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Building on the outputs of the Guiuan RE Roadmap Scoping Workshop held in April, the event served as a platform for key energy stakeholders to contribute to validating and refining the initial energy targets, milestones, programs, policies, and activities (PPAs) set by the municipality’s technical working group (TWG).
The consultation convened local government representatives, farmers, fisherfolk, women’s organizations, local businesses, hotel and resort owners, people’s organizations, and representatives from island and coastal communities of Homonhon, Victoria, Manicani, Tubabao, Sulangan, and Sulu-an, educational institutions, TESDA Guiuan, Eastern Samar Electric Cooperative (ESAMELCO), and Guiuan Water District.
“We are here today to seek your support, gather your ideas and insights, and most importantly, listen to your voices,” said Municipal Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan in Waray during her welcome remarks. “This transition to renewable energy can only succeed if we work together. It is at the community level where this transformation truly begins and where it will matter most.”
In a message of support, ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos Dela Cruz affirmed the importance of collaborative work and thanked Guiuan’s continuous commitment toward shaping a brighter future for their locality through the partnership they have built with ICSC over the years. He also encouraged the participants to persevere through the coming months as they explore adopting renewable energy to enhance their local industries and improve their quality of life.
Building a shared understanding and exploring opportunities
A coastal municipality located at the south-eastern tip of Samar Island, Guiuan is exposed to both extreme weather events and power grid vulnerabilities. In a presentation on the local energy landscape, Senior Data Analyst Charles Jason Diaz explained that Guiuan is highly susceptible to voltage fluctuations and blackouts because it is at the tail end of the power transmission.
Using PRESYO-PH, ICSC’s online platform for power rates data, Diaz noted that Guiuan sources all its electricity requirements from coal power plants outside the province, which poses additional challenges to the municipality’s energy security and reliability. He then presented Guiuan’s RE potential and highlighted how RE can help strengthen energy development in the municipality, especially for island communities that only have six to eight hours of daily electricity access due to reliance on diesel generators.
After the session on local energy contexts, along with a brief on key energy and RE concepts, participants were consulted to validate the presented information by confirming field realities, determining data gaps, and recommending improvements for the roadmap. The discussion identified diversifying energy sources and adopting context-appropriate RE technologies among key considerations in strengthening Guiuan’s RE roadmap. It also emphasized that a successful energy transition will require accurate and updated baseline data, sound policies, technical expertise, environmental safeguards, and active community participation.
To further guide participants in exploring opportunities to enhance their energy transition, RE-Charge Pilipinas Coordinator Orlando Quesada led a session on Community Renewable Energy (CORE), while Grid Modernization Advisor Gaspar “Jhun” Escobar discussed the Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) in agriculture and emerging sectors.
Institutionalizing local RE development
The initial workshop in April marked the beginning of institutionalizing RE development in Guiuan and has led to the drafting of the Guiuan RE Code. The Multistakeholder Consultation featured a public hearing on the draft where Municipal Councilor Kinna Kwan-Mabansag discussed how the ordinance is designed to define the municipality’s strategic direction, strengthen local coordination, support investment readiness, and establish a comprehensive mechanism for implementing RE programs and initiatives.
“We can meet our energy demands using locally available resources such as solar. Through this, our reliance on imported coal is reduced,” said Kwan-Mabansag. She emphasized that localizing power generation is particularly important for Guiuan’s off-grid island communities, which are specifically considered in the ordinance.
She also highlighted how the ordinance will establish an allocated RE fund not less than 0.5% of the annual municipal budget in order to sustainably support RE development in Guiuan.
Legal Advisor on Energy Atty. Abelardo Kris Guanzon provided strategic recommendations, including how the Guiuan RE Code can be designed to safeguard community benefits while also attracting private investment for RE development. “You have a lot of resources here [and] a lot of authority to attract them,” he added.
On the sidelines of the two-day consultation, the key members of the TWG led by Kwan-Mabansag began workshopping the drafted RE Code with ICSC’s legal team. This serves as another significant step toward realizing Guiuan’s RE plan and roadmap. ICSC has been invited for technical assistance in succeeding public hearings.
Collaborating on crafting the RE roadmap
Aside from the RE code, the scoping workshop also served as a critical platform to establish Guiuan’s energy transition framework. Engr. Zhazha Sevilla of the Municipal Planning and Development Office detailed the results of the workshop covering initial ideas on opportunities, challenges, and strategies. This was complemented by a presentation led by Ephraim John Tycho Mabansag of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office on the initial energy targets, milestones, and PPAs.
Participants were then organized into sector-specific groups to examine the PPAs presented and identify considerations and implications for their sector. Participants from island barangays shared that they face safety concerns navigating dark waters and pathways home at night since they have limited access to electricity to power lighting equipment. They emphasized the need for better energy access for off-grid communities that can be achieved through hybrid energy systems.
The farmers and fisherfolk group shared that limited available power hinders them from increasing production yield since they are unable to reliably utilize machinery for their livelihood. They propose prioritizing the development of solar-power equipment such as cold storage facilities, fishing vessels, and irrigation and processing systems coupled with capacity-building in the use and maintenance of these technologies.
Sulong-Suluan, along with representatives from other women’s organizations, called for empowerment through inclusive training and skills development and the solarization of women’s livelihood facilities and schools. Sulong-Suluan has been a long-standing partner of ICSC for community resilience projects, including the Solar Scholars program, where women were trained in the assembly and maintenance of portable solar energy systems that can be used in disaster response.
On the other hand, the education sector identified ways to support RE development through supporting data collection and analysis, conducting advocacy campaigns in schools, and integrating RE in curriculum development. Lastly, the utility sector underscored the need for infrastructure development to achieve 24/7 reliable electricity as well as strengthening safety policies and mechanisms as the community increases participation in electrification.
Concluding the discussions, Mr. Antonio Ecleo Jr of the Municipal Planning and Development Office and Sangguniang Bayan Secretary Rectito Melquiades underscored the value of stakeholder participation and cross-sectoral collaboration. They assured that all recommendations generated during the consultation will help shape the municipality’s RE priorities and will be integrated into the local energy plan and RE code that the LGU is targeting to finalize by the end of the year.
ABOUT THE INITIATIVE
This activity is part of a series of capacity-building engagements entitled “Localizing Energy Transition: Empowering Local Governments to Co-Create the Renewable Energy Roadmap.” It is co-facilitated by AktivAsia Pilipinas, supported by the Tara Climate Foundation, and is part of the Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy (CASE) for Southeast Asia project led by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and implemented on behalf of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
