The Tagbanua indigenous people residing near the Puerto Princesa Underground River, part of their ancestral land in Palawan, still struggle to live with the lack of modern amenities like electricity in their off-grid community. Their activities stop at night as they have no power for lighting.

One Meralco Foundation (OMF) has reached out to the tribe and donated solar lamps and torches to 100 Tagbanua families from Sitio Bayatao and Sitio Kayasan in Barangay Tagabinet. Members of the Philippine Marine Corps-Marine Battalion Landing Team-9 (MBLT-9) delivered the lighting equipment.

The sun-powered lamps will help the Tagbanuas to become more productive at home. They can also use it to light their way when venturing out after dark.

OMF also donated solar lamps to soldiers of the MBLT-9 to help them perform their task of guarding and protecting the islets covered by the Kalayaan Island Group. By using these solar lamps, they can secure and monitor better the perimeter of the area and perform their civil operation duties better.

“Small lights have big potentials, and through these donations, we help continue to #SpreadTheLight in communities far and wide. #LightUpPilipinas #LUP,” OMF said in a Facebook statement.

Meanwhile, OMF has donated school kits for kindergarten students of General Roxas Elementary School in Quezon City. Each kit contains school supplies as well as storybooks and alphabet flashcards — tools to help children improve their reading and writing skills.

The donation was made possible through the Meralco Employees Fund for Charity Inc. and the National Bookstore Foundation.

Employee volunteers from the Meralco Roosevelt Business Center, headed by Agnes Macob, distributed the customized bags and also initiated a storytelling session with the children.