(L-R) Seal of the Eastern Samar Province over a photo of the Eastern Samar
Provincial Capitol; Seal of Borongan City over a photo of the Borongan City Hall. (Photos from Facebook)

The Provincial Government of Eastern Samar and the City Government of Borongan, Philippines signed executive orders to establish Just Energy Transition Multi-Stakeholder Committees (JETMSCs), as the province and city seek to transition to renewable energy (RE) sources.

The creation of the JETMSCs marks Eastern Samar Province and Borongan City’s further commitment to a fair and inclusive RE transition and the RE-Start Campaign, as the JETMSCs will play key roles in the formulating and implementing the province and city’s respective Local Energy Plans.

A JETMSC serves as a mechanism to help ensure that the benefits of RE are equitably distributed across society—especially to the most vulnerable sectors—by ensuring that all stakeholders can participate in the development of local energy plans, programs, and activities.

Now in its third year, the RE-Start Campaign is a project of Oxfam Pilipinas that is part of its Just Energy Transition (JET) Programme and is under the technical implementation of ICLEI Southeast Asia (SEA). It aims to promote a democratized energy governance system in the Philippines and support local actors to establish enabling policy and program environment for accelerated RE transformation.

JET refers to a framework for transitioning from fossil fuel-based energy system to one that relies on renewable and sustainable energy sources, while ensuring that the process is fair, inclusive, and equitable.

Eastern Samar Province Governor Ben P. Evardone signed the Executive Order (EO) No. BPE-2024-10-013, Series of 2024 last December 18, 2024, while Borongan City Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda signed EO No. JIDCA-1121-1224 last December 5, 2024.

Eastern Samar Province

Eastern Samar Province’s EO mandates the JETMSC to formulate the Provincial Energy Plan, which includes energy-related policies, programs, projects, and activities proposed and committed by any participating stakeholder and will be submitted to the Provincial Development Council. Once the energy plan is adopted, it will be incorporated into the Energy Component of the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP).

The Provincial JETMSC is composed of representatives from local government unit (LGU) offices (the Provincial Planning and Development Office, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office, and the League of Barangays – Provincial Federation), government agencies (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 8), the academe, and civil society organizations (Easter Samar Electric Cooperative, Inc., Eastern Samar State University, and the Suong Kalikasan Este Youth Federation).

Provincial Governor Evardone chairs the committee, while Philip C. Evardone Jr., Chair of Energy of the Provincial Board, serves as the vice chairman. 

ICLEI SEA created the first draft of the EO for the Eastern Samar Province after facilitating and gathering inputs from stakeholders in a meeting-workshop on the Provincial JETMSC in September 2024. 

Borongan City

Borogan City’s JETMSC will also formulate the city’s Local Energy Plan, which would include energy-related policies, programs, projects, and activities proposed and committed by stakeholders. 

The city’s Local Energy Plan will then be submitted to the City Development Council and, once adopted, will be incorporated in the Comprehensive Development Plan as its Energy Component. 

Borongan City’s JETMSC is composed of seven groups with different duties and functions, namely the Policy and Program Advisory Group, Technical Working Group, Secretariat, Research and Development Support Group, Policy & Program Alignment and Resources Support Group, Advocacy and Co-implementation Group, and the Information and Dissemination Group.

The Provincial Board is represented in the Policy and Program Advisory Group, while the Technical Working Group and Secretariat consist of representatives from several city government offices.

On the other hand, the Policy & Program Alignment and Resources Support Group consists of representatives of national government agencies and the Eastern Samar Provincial Government.

As for the Research and Development Support Group, Eastern Samar State University serves as the chair with members representing the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers, Easter Samar Electric Cooperative, Inc., National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, and the Department of Science and Technology.

The Advocacy and Co-implementation Group, chaired by the League of Barangays – Borongan Chapter, includes representatives from the Department of Education – Borongan City District, Panlungsod na Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan (city federation of the barangay youth council), transportation groups, Borongan City Chamber of Commerce, and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) Caritas, Catholic Relief Services, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, and Oxfam Pilipinas.

Meanwhile, the Information and Dissemination Group includes representatives from the members-consumers-owners organization and various NGOs and civil society organizations, including forest protection and management groups, senior citizens’ association, women’s organization, LGBTQIA+ organizations, and various youth organizations, among others.

Through the two EOs, the governments of Eastern Samar Province and Borongon City recognize the importance of a just transition to RE as a crucial step to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate climate change, especially for the Philippines, which faces extreme vulnerability to climate change impacts because of its geographic location and socio-economic conditions.

Both EOs also mention the Philippines’ goal for its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) following the Paris Climate Agreement, in which the country committed to a 75% reduction in its cumulative GHG emissions for 2020 to 2030 or the sectors of agriculture, wastes, industry, transport, and energy.

Moreover, the EOs also recognize the potential of RE for energy self-reliance and in addressing unstable and inaccessible electricity supply.

Borogan City, the capital of the Eastern Samar Province, is an ICLEI member city and was previously engaged by ICLEI SEA in the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network  (ACCCRN) project which demonstrated a diverse range of effective approaches, processes, and practices for assessing and addressing urban climate vulnerabilities. Borongan City was also a project site for the Climate Resilient Cities project which aims to help Philippine local governments adapt to, mitigate, and manage the impacts of climate change and disasters through a consultative and collaborative approach.