by Sophia Kaye Fernandez

Editor’s Note: Sophia is currently a Communications Officer for Media and Events at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, stationed at the organization’s Eastern Visayas office.

We are usually taught to be afraid of the dark. But for me, it was something I grew up expecting.

Blackouts were a constant during my childhood, like an unwanted but inevitable guest. The glow of the kerosene lamps illuminated some holidays, and our shadows entertained us when the world seemingly paused and was eerily silent. There were no LED string lights, loud singing from the neighbors, or festive cheers to welcome another year. When you gaze outside the window, you see pitch black—except for tiny flames in each other’s houses, defying the night without light.

In 2013, the typhoon came, and it swallowed everything. It took us six months to get the electricity back. I remember the last thing I saw on Facebook before my phone died: a photo of a boy standing before an oil drum. The light put warmth on his face against the backdrop of the lifeless, wrecked, cold city behind him.

That’s when I realized that energy is more than just electricity; it is hope. It is life.

Living in the Light

Switch-on and Turnover of the Solarize Guiuan Municipal Hall Project

When I joined ICSC late last year, I only knew about its projects on the surface level, which involved climate action, resilient development, and energy. Before this, I also worked with some energy conglomerates, but it was different when I saw projects that impacted the community. It is different when you see the beaming faces of the people, knowing that what they thought was a privilege before can also be a part of their everyday lives.

Solarizing Eastern Visayas

Switch-on and Turnover of the Solarize Paranas Municipal Hall Project

Being involved in the solarization projects in Eastern Visayas made me see hope in the energy crisis in the region. There’s light in addressing the crisis, but also a lingering question: Why, in a region abundant with renewable energy potential, are we still reliant on coal?

Maybe some local governments are more proactive than others. I found myself quietly envious of the women leaders in Samar who are stepping up, embracing resilience, and pushing for long-term solutions.

“…kay naruyag hira magbag-o (because they desire change),” a friend said while hearing about Guiuan. The municipality is now home to ICSC’s largest solar installation in Eastern Visayas, offered freely with the hope of catalyzing the just energy transition agenda. Similarly, Paranas now also stands out as the first solar-powered building in the Province of Samar, and second only to Guiuan in Region VIII. In both of these cases, the mutual trust and support between ICSC and the community played a vital role in the success of these projects.

But then again, these are only two stories out of 136 municipalities in Eastern Visayas — each with its own challenges and potential. It is still a long journey ahead for ICSC.

Harayo pa pero harayo na (Malayo na pero malayo pa)

I like to joke that I was still in grade school when ICSC first arrived in Tacloban. How they existed and blended into the landscape, and how they slowly and quietly made small but meaningful changes in Eastern Visayas. It made me realize that change doesn’t always need to be lavish or bold; it can be the small partnerships that ultimately lead to more significant projects.

And now, with every solar panel installed in public infrastructures and communities empowered, ICSC continues to prove that renewable energy is not just a distant idea, but a reality: one that some have begun to achieve, and others are working towards.

As we continue to create these ripples of change, we move closer to a future where there will be no community left in the dark.

Editor’s note:

Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines on November 8, 2013. It was the deadliest typhoon in the country’s history.

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, ICSC began its work in the Eastern Visayas, starting with partnerships in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. Since then, the organization has expanded its work across the region.