BY APRIL MARGRETTE ALNAS & BRAELL EBRADO/UM Interns
THE DAVAO Light and Power Co and the Department of Public Works and Highways have committed to installing electrical wiring and facilities for the conventional LED lamps along Davao City Coastal Road.
Earlier, Councilor Diosdado Angelo Mahipus Jr. raised road safety concerns about the streetlights along the coastal road, asking the power utility firm and the DPWH to take action.
DLPC will handle the installation and procurement of the materials, which will form part of its capital expenditure and require approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission. This process will take four to six months.
“It’s around ₱40- ₱50 million to repair and replace this so that we can achieve adequate lighting of that sector,” said Engr. Allan Christian Calag, DLPC senior assistant vice president for engineering support.
Meanwhile, Engr. Reno Alas, provisional materials engineer at DPWH XI, shared that the solar lights from Times Beach to Roxas are below the required standards. This was the result of their joint light inspection in January 2026.
In the meantime, the DPWH committed to replacing the defective solar lights, although the stocks are anticipated to arrive in early May.
In addition, the non-functioning streetlights at Bago Aplaya-Tulip Drive were caused by recurrent copper wire theft. The city government replaced these with solar lights since the DPWH lacked the funding.
“We will not allow, or we have objections to the turnover of the coastal road if the lighting is not sufficient, but the big problem is that DPWH does not have the funding to correct the situation,” Mahipus said.
The City Council is also concerned about solar maintenance, as it may prove unsustainable. Also, lawmakers suggested not using overhead wires because they block the view of Mount Apo.
The DLPC affirmed that it has an existing underground distribution system in the area and strongly recommends aluminum-insulated wires to reduce wire theft, as aluminum is less valuable than copper
In addition, Davao Light recommended using conventional LED lights to address lighting disparities, with a formal request for an assessment of retrofitting the existing lamp posts to install street lights in accordance with the company’s standards.
