Soberanía energética en acción: Una comunidad indígena T’boli-Manobo enciende la chispa de la energía solar en Filipinas

This case study describes the installation of an off-grid solar micro-system in the T’boli-Manobo indigenous community of Datal Bonglangon, located in the province of South Cotabato, Philippines. Supported by the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) and Friends of the Earth International, the project aims to achieve energy sovereignty for a community that previously lacked electricity and faced conflicts with industrial plantations and military violence.

• In March 2022, the village of Ned in South Cotabato province transitioned from having no electricity to utilizing an off-grid photovoltaic micro-system. This model is designed to align with low-carbon development trajectories and is potentially replicable in other remote areas via the government's Rural Electrification Program, which has a completion rate of 91%.
• The solar micro-grid project was designed to provide essential lighting to 60 homes and a standard charging station for mobile phones and flashlights at the community center. At the time of the report, 46 homes had been connected to electricity.
• The T’boli-Manobo community, represented by the organization TAMASCO, has faced significant conflict with the M&S company (a subsidiary of the DMCI conglomerate) over an industrial coffee plantation. Despite a 2018 'cease and desist' order from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), M&S continues to operate within the community's ancestral domain.
• The document highlights a centralized energy model in the Philippines dominated by oil and coal, where 57.6% of energy is directed toward transport and industry. This has resulted in energy poverty, with over 1.3 million rural Filipinos lacking household electricity.

APA

Ferraris, J. M., & Race, M. (2022). Soberanía energética en acción: Una comunidad indígena T’boli-Manobo enciende la chispa de la energía solar en Filipinas. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/es/soberania-energetica-en-accion-una-comunidad-indigena-tboli-manobo-enciende-la-chispa-de-la-energia-solar-en-filipinas/

Chicago

Ferraris, Jean Marie, and Madeleine Race. Soberanía energética en acción: Una comunidad indígena T’boli-Manobo enciende la chispa de la energía solar en Filipinas. Friends of the Earth International, 2022. https://www.foei.org/es/soberania-energetica-en-accion-una-comunidad-indigena-tboli-manobo-enciende-la-chispa-de-la-energia-solar-en-filipinas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ferraris |first1=Jean Marie |last2=Race |first2=Madeleine |title=Soberanía energética en acción: Una comunidad indígena T’boli-Manobo enciende la chispa de la energía solar en Filipinas |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=11 August 2022 |url=https://www.foei.org/es/soberania-energetica-en-accion-una-comunidad-indigena-tboli-manobo-enciende-la-chispa-de-la-energia-solar-en-filipinas/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ferraris2022soberana, author = {Ferraris, Jean Marie and Race, Madeleine}, title = {{Soberanía energética en acción: Una comunidad indígena T’boli-Manobo enciende la chispa de la energía solar en Filipinas}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.foei.org/es/soberania-energetica-en-accion-una-comunidad-indigena-tboli-manobo-enciende-la-chispa-de-la-energia-solar-en-filipinas/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }