Access to clean and safe water is among the basic needs that are crucial not just for sustaining life but also in building healthy and productive communities. In several parts of the Philippines, there are still remote communities that are yet to have access to this fundamental need.

The World Bank's 2020 data indicate that only around 47% of the Philippines' population has access to clean water. Considering that this is often referred to as the elixir of life, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has been actively helping the government address the challenge through One Meralco Foundation's (OMF) Water Access Electrification Program.

Committed to empowering off-grid areas across the country, OMF has been powering water distribution facilities in remote communities using solar energy

Among its recent beneficiary is Barangay Sibaltan in El Nido, Palawan whose residents have access to reliable and sustainable water, a welcome development for the well-being and productivity of the community.

OMF installed an 8-kilowatt peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) system to power the Acosta Water Pumping Station, which is expected to benefit up to more than 300 households, majority of whom are members of the Cuyonon ethnic group.

Before OMF's program reached the community, Barangay Sibaltan's primary water facility, which was operated by the Municipal Economic Enterprises and Development Office (MEEDO), relied on diesel generators, resulting in high operating costs that presented challenges for both MEEDO and the community.

The facility's dependence on the use of generator sets also made the community vulnerable to intermittent water service, affecting their daily activities, productivity, and livelihood, which include fishing and agricultural farming, particularly planting rice, and cashew nuts.