Team led by Ira Concepcion of ASHS wins Climathon Pasig’s ‘Renewable Energy’ challenge

“Utang Ngayon, Liwanag ng Bukas," the project proposed by Ateneo de Manila Senior High School students Ira Concepcion (12-Navarro) and Eliana Lim (12-Oldcorne), together with three teammates from other schools, emerged as champion of Climathon Pasig 2022’s Design Challenge 2: Renewable Energy. “Utang Ngayon…” was also handpicked by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto himself as the winner of the Mayor’s Choice Award. As the winner of these two awards, the group received a P100,000 grant for their project’s pilot implementation and a P15,000 cash prize.    

Contestants in Climathon’s “Design Challenge 2” category were challenged to propose projects that would make renewable energy more affordable and accessible to Pasig citizens. In a nutshell, “Utang Ngayon, Liwanag ng Bukas” is a loan program that helps those from low-income households to secure a loan from a financial institution in order to purchase energy-saving solar products. It will have its pilot implementation in Barangay Pineda in Pasig City this March with the assistance of the local government. According to team leader Ira Concepcion, “There are three steps to the project’s implementation: campaigning, loaning, and installation. Campaigns will be held in every barangay and loans will be availed through barangay halls. Lastly, installation involves the installment of the solar products and the paying off of the loans. If the pilot implementation is successful, the program shall be implemented in all the barangays of Pasig.”   

Climathon Pasig 2022 was held online from October 28 to 30, 2022, attracting proposals from students, engineers, and government officials. Funded by the European Union, it is an annual competition that creates awareness about climate change and gives participants a platform to create & propose solutions for Pasig City’s climate challenges from the ground up.