MANILA - Edwin Salas watched as the first of 20 solar panels was installed on the roof of his home, joining a Philippine solar energy boom sent into overdrive by the Middle East war. The country's eye-watering electric bills -- the highest in the region -- were the primary driver of his decision, he said. While the Philippine government has targeted a mix of 35 percent renewable energy by 2030, industry experts say the solar surge is a bottom-up phenomenon driven by businesses and individual consumers. "For years, rooftop solar was often framed as an environmental choice... today, it's a practical response to financial pressure," Brenda Valerio, country director for non-profit New Energy Nexus, told AFP. The Philippines this year became China's number two buyer of solar panels, according to a report from global energy think tank Ember.