2022 Klima Reports

On December 2021, Super Typhoon Odette, internationally known as Rai, devastated the provinces of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands. A year later, Klima Fellows from Philippine Daily Inquirer Erwin Mascariñas and Ivy Marie Mangadlao visited one of the affected villages and documented how solar energy helped the community back on its feet.

The Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) initial foray into renewable energy generation in Man-asok Buguias, Benguet is the first of many planned for the province to make Benguet self-reliant when it comes to energy.

Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro, deputy executive director of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda), loves to remember the time, not so long ago, when electricity rates in Mindanao hovered at P6 per kilowatt-hour, the lowest in the country. This was when hydroelectricity generated from the waters of Agus and Pulangi rivers made up the bulk of the region’s energy supply. The Agus and Pulangi plants had a combined installed capacity of 1,001.1 megawatts.

Part 2 of a two-part series “A just transition to jeepney modernization entails putting critical infrastructure in place and empowering small cooperatives while developing renewable energy sources.”

What are the potentials and challenges in shifting to renewable energy, particularly hydropower, in order to power up Benguet? Our Klima Fellows Carl Taawan and Sam Bautista explore the realities of venturing into hydropower in the province in this two-part story in the Highland Tribune.

In the shift to renewables, all hands should be on-deck, from government actors, private stakeholders, the academe, and the community. In this two-part story, our Klima Fellows Germelina Lacorte and Barry Ohaylan speak with academics and engineers from the Ateneo de Davao University to learn about their efforts in greening their university and in extension, Davao City and Mindanao.

The indigenous Manobo community in Sitio Blit in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato used to be shrouded in darkness, until a government project called “tala” (star) lit up their homes using solar power. This special report by Bong Sarmiento and Carolyn Arguillas, our Klima Fellows from Mindanews, takes us to this foggy village in Mindanao, where households benefit from renewable energy.

The transport sector is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions. As the world moves towards renewable energy sources, how do we ensure a just transition for the public transport sector in the Philippines? Our Klima Fellows Mavic Conde and Ronalyn Olea from Bulatlat produced a two-part report exploring the government’s jeepney modernization program, which envisions greener public transport.

In the mountainous Sitio Kamantian in Palawan province, the indigenous Pala’wan women turn to solar power not only to light up their community, but to save their long tradition to weave baskets, traditionally called “tingkep.” This story by Keith Anthony Fabro and Jee Geronimo, our Klima Fellows from Rappler, explores how renewable energy lights up an indigenous village, empowers women to uphold their traditions, and helps save the natural forests.

What lessons can we learn from a far-flung community in northern Cordillera on securing power from renewable energy sources? Raymund Villanueva and Rosemarie Alcaraz, our Klima Fellows from Kodao Productions, traveled to Apayao to document a small village’s journey and experiences with micro-hydropower.