OMF Program Brightens Low Income Homes in Majayjay, Laguna
One Meralco Foundation's Household Electrification Program Brightens Low-Income Homes in Majayjay, Laguna
One Meralco Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), recently energized 86 low-income households in Majayjay, Laguna, enabling families to be more productive at home and freeing them from submetering electricity from their neighbors.
Through the Household Electrification Program, these families from Barangay Pangil, Panglan, and Gagalot received financial support and technical assistance from the Foundation, the Meralco Sta. Cruz Business Center, and the municipality of Majayjay, making it easier for them to apply for their own access to the grid through Meralco. The program has been an ongoing partnership since 2019, paving the way for the electrification of 426 households across 22 barangays in the municipality.
Among those who benefited from the project is Marissa Espares from Barangay Pangil, whose family didn't have their own access to electricity due to lack of resources. To address their need for electricity at home, her family resorted to submetering electricity from their neighbor. But when their neighbor's electrical access was cut, the Espares family were then forced to live in the darkness. "Nagtiis po kami ng seven months na nakakandila," she recalled.
Shiela May Exconde, also from Barangay Pangil, used to pay her neighbor P1,500 a month, even if they controlled the use of a single lightbulb, one electric fan, and the occasional use of television at home out of fear that overconsumption would force them to pay a costlier amount.
Through the program, Espares' home was energized three days before Christmas, with the light bringing smiles to the faces of her children. She can now use their washing machine and their rice cooker at home, making it easier for her to juggle selling vegetables and dried fish and managing the household. Five of her children who go to school can also study easier and read better now with lights on at night.
For the Exconde family, it's a relief to pay just half of what they used to pay their neighbor for electricity, now that they have direct electrical access. "Mas maluwag po sa pakiramdam kasi 'yung binabayaran namin mas mababa sa dati. Nagpapasalamat po kami sa One Meralco Foundation kasi po nakamenos po kami sa bill," Shiela said.
Both families also envision a brighter future ahead with more savings, with Espares and Exconde planning to buy appliances such as a refrigerator to preserve their food and even start selling ice candy or offering halo-halo to their neighbors to combat the summer heat. These show how energizing homes can positively impact the immediate community.
Majayjay Mayor Romeo P. Amorado, meanwhile, underscored the importance of residents having their own electrical access, as it solves one of the LGU's issues: fires due to electrical overload.
"Kung makakatulong ito na maiwasan na ang mga sunog na dulot ng multiple connections ng metro, mas maganda ipatupad natin ang programa ng Meralco," he said during the community launch held recently. "Nakakatuwa po dahil nandyan po ang One Meralco Foundation para tumulong po sa ating mga kababayan."
For his part, One Meralco Foundation President Jeffrey Tarayao said, "Energizing homes empower not just the individual households who benefit from it directly, but also their community. When individual households grow and improve, they can become better contributors in society that improves their community–and ultimately, the country–as a whole."
In 2024, OMF energized 3,455 low-income households across the Meralco franchise area. Since 2011, the program has energized more than 79,000 households, contributing to the national government's aim of 100% nationwide electrification in the Philippines by 2028.