Over 11 million filipinos live without electricity in the Philippines, especially on islands where electricity is intermitten and is only available from four to six hours a day. Women being the more vulnerable sector in social policy, they uphold the family at home and should be given a voice, be consulted and heard.
In any country or society where there is a dearth of social services or a lack of implementation in social policy, women are the more vulnerable sector. Given this, it is crucial that in both the determination of social problems and in the implementation of solutions, women should be consulted and heard.
In direct relation to this, the Center for Empowerment, Innovation, and Training on Renewable Energy (CentRE), together with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Philippines and other partner organizations, continues an initiative that began in 2021 to bring together, document, and share the narratives of Filipino women on an important issue: energy access.
The project, titled “Women in Inclusive and Sustainable Energy (WISE) and Just Transition”, is a dialogue series where Filipino women from different walks of life can safely share their circumstances and views on the importance of energy access.
Through discussions, they also determined forms of collective action to promote just energy transition in the Philippines, and linked to this is a myriad of environmental and social welfare concerns such as climate change.
Recent available data showed the country’s electrification level of 94 percent lagged behind other Southeast Asian countries. Over 11 million Filipinos or 2.4 million households remain without electricity. If they do have access, the electricity supply is intermittent. In some islands, electricity is only available four to six hours a day.
