RE_Empower

The irony of Negros Island’s abundant renewable energy

The Tordaneso couple is among the thousands of households in the Philippines still without access to electricity despite efforts in recent years to improve generation and distribution, especially in rural areas like San Carlos in Negros Occidental. In December last year, the Diocese of San Carlos...

May polls crucial for urgent shift to clean, cheap renewables

MANILA, Philippines — Purok Ilaya, a small farming community in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, has not been reached by power lines even though it is located in one of Western Visayas’ highly urbanized cities. To light up their homes, some members of the urban poor community paid higher rates...

These solar panels at Laiban Integrated School in Tanay, Rizal help power computers that give students a chance to catch up with others with easier access to technology and electricity. (Philstar.com / Efigenio Toledo IV)

Solar power offers students in unelectrified Laiban a chance to catch up

Barangay Laiban in Tanay, Rizal is just 30 minutes away from the town’s main road, but the settlement of around 700 people has been left behind not only in electrification but also in education.

Buenavista-Balagbag Small Farmer’s Association vice president Ramon Doblon, 51, zips close the Solar Bubble Dryer after putting unhusked brown rice into the drying tunnel. The solar dryer is a part of Oxfam and Rice Watch Action Network’s assistance for their Typhoon Rolly (Goni) Recovery Program. (Photo: Juanito Bantong/Oxfam)

Farmers endure tough seasons with envi-friendly solar dryers

Raquel Villanueva, 68, had doubts when their town’s agriculturist in Milaor sent her a message that a non-governmental organization was ready to give them assistance after Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) devastated their town in Camarines Sur province.

“REady, JET, GlasGOw” participants pass by the Jones Bridge at Manila together with cars and motorist. The advocacy ride organized by Oxfam Pilipinas was done to call on the local and national government as well as private corporations to address climate change by significantly reducing carbon emissions. (Photo: Jilson Tiu/Oxfam)

Oxfam, cyclists hold simultaneous bike rides in Metro Manila, Eastern Samar to call for climate action

Oxfam Pilipinas and partner organizations on Saturday launched two simultaneous bike rides in Metro Manila and Eastern Samar to urge the Philippine government and world leaders to immediately address the climate crisis.