Just weeks ahead of the 2025 national midterm elections, a public high school in Valenzuela is leading a grassroots push for energy-secure and fraud-free polls—by going solar.
General Tiburcio De Leon National High School on Monday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) and sustainability group Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on campus. The solarized facilities will serve as voting precincts on election day.
“Institutions like ours bear the responsibility of helping shape our country’s future through ensuring quality education for Filipino youth and, during election periods, through safeguarding the integrity of our voting polls,” said Principal Eddie Alarte. “Power supply interruptions put this at risk. This MOA is our contribution to a successful election process and to advancing a sustainable future for our country.”
The effort marks the first step in TDC’s broader campaign to solarize public schools across the country—both as a safeguard against brownouts and as part of the 10 Million Solar Rooftops Challenge. Launched by CEED and nearly 30 groups in 2024, the campaign aims to equip 10 million rooftops in the Philippines with solar PV systems.
“Teachers are the backbone of national elections,” said TDC Chairperson Benjo Basas. “Any risk to the supply of electricity… endangers not only the effectiveness of our work, but also the very security of the election process and of teachers and voters themselves.”
The school’s initiative aligns with Kontra Brownout, Iwas Daya, a watchdog campaign launched this April to help prevent election disruptions amid nationwide power outages, particularly during the summer season.
CEED’s Avril De Torres emphasized that solar PV offers a practical solution. “The Philippines has an abundant potential for renewable energy, with an estimated 91 GW for solar rooftop PV systems alone,” she said. “These are systems that can be installed in any terrain… and benefit Filipinos of all walks of life with affordable, reliable, and clean power.”
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