GMA  vows electrification of all barangays by 2009

BOHOL -  President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed last night to "conquer darkness" in all barangays still without electricity by 2009, or sooner.

The President told a big gathering here of local residents and officials from the Central Visaya provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Siquijor that the full energization of the country’s 41,945 barangays is just a year or so away.

"In 2009, government will finally conquer darkness with the attainment of a 100 percent barangay electrification rate," she said.

The President said that for fiscal year 2008, the Department of Energy has allotted some P200 million for the energization of the remaining 770 unenergized barangays.

An additional P300 million has been allotted in the National Electrification Administration (NEA) budget for electric cooperatives.

"Thank you for the tax reforms we implemented---we have the money to complete our Rural Electrification Program," she said.

She added that foreign grants would also be utilized in the electrification program, including the rehabilitation of facilities destroyed by typhoons last year.