DAILY STAR: Negros Oriental

The Department of Agrarian Reform will offer a rental package to agrarian reform beneficiaries, who are willing to lease out their farms in areas where solar-powered plants will be built as part of the government's effort to provide cheaper and cleaner electricity, its press release said.

This was after Secretary Gil de los Reyes, of DAR, and the Sunconnex Solar Powered Agri-Rural Communities Corp. signed the memorandum of agreement on the program at the DAR central office recently.

The government is looking for at least 50 sites all over the country to establish the solar-powered plants as provided for in the MOA. This is an opportunity for ARBs to earn extra income by leasing out portions of their farms for the setting up of solar-powered plants with a generating capacity of 5-10 megawatts each, the press release said.

IN DUMAGUETE
‘Handumanan' exhibit opens
BY JUANCHO GALLARDE

An exhibit of artifacts, culture and arts called “Handumanan” is ongoing at Robinsons Place mall in Dumaguete City until May 17 as part of activities for the Santacruzan festival this month.

City tourism officer Woodrow Maquiling Jr. said the exhibit that started May 7 is the first step towards having a museum or a heritage site for Dumaguete, where vintage pictures from old families that helped shaped the city to what it is now, will be kept. These include the Pinili clan, the Teves, Alfabeto, Macias, Pastor, Romero, Uymatiao, Larena, Flores, Locsin, and Bejar.

The exhibit also features the history of educational institutions in the city, former mayors, vintage pictures of old landmarks and structures in Dumaguete and Negros Oriental..

‘Provinces should be
allowed to develop RE'

The Energy Regulatory Commission has been asked to review the Feed-In-Tariff rules it released recently to promote the use of renewable energy, particularly the FIT rates that should not only be based on technology, but also on geographic location.

Rep. Jack Enrile (Cagayan, 1st District) said, in a press release, that the provinces should be allowed to harness their natural competitive advantages.

If the provinces have the natural resource to produce energy that can sustain their needs, the ERC and the National Renewable Energy Board should incentivize them by lowering their FIT rates, Enrile added in the press release.

Email: visayandailystar@yahoo.com