AboitizPower, Davao Light Sitio Electrification Program Update: Vergie’s sari-sari store shines bright in Brgy. Lumiad

Ice, ice Vergie. Vergie now provides her neighbors
with much desired ice packs which are often sold
out. This is made possible with the electrification of
her community - and her brand new chest freezer.
(Photo by Mark Perandos)

DAVAO CITY - with recent temperatures torturing residents with unbearable heat, Vergie Sombilon, 53, has become a reliable source of ice for her community in Barangay Lumiad, Paquibato, Davao City. She owns a sari-sari store and has recently purchased a chest-type freezer. For Vergie, the appliance was a dream come true, as she had long wanted to sell cold drinks and other frozen goods.

Since her home received access to electricity last April, neighbors have been dropping by and sometimes begging to be sold barely frozen water just to mend the heat. 

There used to be a time when Vergie would tell local tourists on their way to a nearby waterfall, that she had no ice for sale yet. 

The Sitio Electrification Program, which aims for 100%

electrification in the Philippines, is one of the government’s

priority programs for economic development and poverty

reduction. Through Davao Light, an AboitizPower subsidiary

and the country's third largest private electric distribution utility,

the unlit sitio of Barangay Lumiad,Paquibato in Davao City was

fully energized last April. (Photo courtesy by Scott A. Woodward,

courtesy of Davao Light)

Vergie’s sari-sari store is one of the many stories of the Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) of the Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. (Davao Light), an Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) subsidiary and the country’s third-largest electric distribution utility holding franchise for supplying power to the cities of Davao and Panabo,. and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte. SEP is a project of the Philippine Department of Energy, in partnership with the National Electrification Administration. It is one of the government’s priority programs for economic development and poverty reduction by aiming for 100% electrification in the Philippines.

The SEP aims to energize 399 sitios in Mindanao, along with others in Luzon and Visayas. The SEP completely lit up all of Barangay Lumiad in April, after years of suffering.

For as long as Vergie can remember, coming home to her house in Lumiad meant walking in the dark, the streets lit only by the reflection of the moon on the dirt paths. Before the days of cell phones with built-in lights, walking home in the dark meant she would need to light up a torch made of lukay or old dried coconut leaves for the three-hour walk. Vergie lives in the remote Purok Ayagon in Lumiad.

Lumiad is much nearer to Panabo City, in Davao del Norte, than its Davao City location, and yet it was more convenient for its residents to travel to Davao del Norte to stock up for their everyday needs. 

A lifetime of this has made her accustomed to this routine. 

“At least karon, naa nay masakyan nga motor ug tricycle pauli. Layo gihapon pero dili na kaayo ngit ngit pareho sa una.” (At least nowadays, you can ride passenger motorcycles and tricycles home. The distance is still there. But it’s not as dark as before.) 

In the days of insurgency, Vergie and her family used to take advantage of the dark to hide in fear of being caught in the middle of shootouts between soldiers and rebels. 

With Davao Light’s SEP project electrifying 100% of Barangay Lumiad last April, walking in the dark has become a thing of the past for Vergie’s family and the rest of the community.

Around 400 homes have received access to electricity and may help the rest of the small barangay reach their dreams, according to Lumiad barangay captain Celso Bughao.

Vergie comes from a farming family that transitioned into general merchandising once dropping crop prices no longer made it sustainable to continue. 

Ice cream break. Vergie and her eldest son enjoy
ice cream pops on hot days. (Photo by Mark Perandos)

For the first time, Vergie is making decisions about the next appliances to buy. Her recent purchase of the refrigerator meant she could now sell frozen meat products, cold drinks, and ice cream, apart from ice.  Word has gone out that Vergie has bought for herself a freezer, and the community has benefited from this gift. “Sometimes, we run out of ice and I’ve found myself packing more at night for the next day’s buyers,” Vergie said. 

Today, Vergie and her family take turns minding the store, with some of the family members having important roles. Her eldest son, for example, supplies the coco charcoal for trading, while her second son helps them run the store. Another son is benefitting from the electrification, too, thanks to the Piso Wifi (a vending machine for the internet) that the family has set up at their house. 

WiFi access. As an added income to her sari-sari store.
Vergie also invested in an electricity-powered Piso wifi
vending machine for personal use and for business.
(Photo by Mark Perandos)

With Vergie’s perseverance inspired by Davao Light’s gift of light, she can power through her dreams and her family’s, from packs of ice in a chest freezer to a brighter life in Barangay Lumiad. 

Vergie constantly mentions her gratitude and her relief now that they have consistent power in the area.

“Salamat sa Davao Light, mas sayon na among panginabuhi karon. Mas hapsay na ang among pamuyo.” (Davao Light has helped us make this place more liveable.) (Press Release)