Philippines receive grant for rural electrification program

Energy Secretary Vince Perez said that the Philippines will get a $ 20 mm grant from the USAID for the national government's rural electrification program nationwide.
Perez said the fresh USAID grant would be used to energize the 5,000 barangays, particularly those in depressed areas in Mindanao and other areas formerly under the control of the New People's Army (NPA).

The energy chief said most of these barangays are in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Aside from the grant, Perez said the government would also get assistance for the development of the country's renewable energy resources like wind power, solar, and the strengthening of the country's natural gas industry.
President Bush was happy to learn that the Philippines has developed its Malampaya gas reserves for commercial production, he said. In fact, President Bush is sending his energy secretary after he learned that the Philippines is the second producer of geothermal energy in the world, Perez said.