LED lights brighten lives on Bulacan island

By Freddie Velez 
OBANDO, Bulacan – A dona­tion of 200 LED light bulbs from SM City Marilao has made the lives of families in the island of Binuangan this town a lot brighter.

Being an island, Binuan­gan has limited access to good lighting. Nuestra de Salambao Parish Administrator Fr. Ramon Bernardo said many households still rely on expensive incan­descent lighting and dangerous alternatives such as candles and kerosene lamps.

The management of the mall in Marilao believes the LED bulbs will provide families with safe, comfortable, and well-lit homes. It will also help reduce electricity consumption for lighting while decreasing carbon emissions.

Apart from lighting homes and helping low-income families save money, the donation also supports SM City Marilao’s sustainability campaign.

Gladyz May Latiza, the mall’s public relations manager, said the first batch of hundreds of LED bulbs was delivered in August last year in Sta. Cruz, Paombong.

The LEDs were especially welcome to the livelihood proj­ects of the community that include production of pickled sea purslane or atsarang dam­palit and processed fish prod­ucts.
“Because the community uses solar energy solutions in their livelihood projects, the do­nation of SM City Marilao helped in reducing energy consumption and operational costs,” said Commission on Action Coordi­nator Joseph Batac.

The LED donation for 2019 is a post-follow-up action of the 2018 e-LluminArt campaign in SM City Marilao.

e-LluminArt is an eco-friend­ly light art installation held last March that uses innovative approaches focusing on the theme of recycling, reducing energy consumption and sus­tainability. The light art instal­lation was solar-powered and created with energy-efficient LED lighting as well as recycled materials.