Blaming won’t solve power outages

By Malu Cadelina-Manar | Monday| May 7, 2012 

KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/06 May) –  The lawyer of Vice Mayor Joseph Evangelista has called on politicians to set aside their bickering and instead unify their forces and efforts to solve the power crisis in North Cotabato.

Cromwell Rabaya said political bickering and the ‘blame game’ won’t end the energy crisis but prolong peoples’ suffering.

At present, the power outages in the province take from seven to eight hours daily.

He said the people want to see politicians “rally together for the common good.”

Rabaya was reacting to statements from other politicians that the filing of a civil case against the Department of Energy (DOE) last week had hampered efforts of the national government to act on their demands, one of which is the immediate implementation of the priority load dispatch.

Evangelista on April 28 filed a civil case against Energy Secretary Jose Almendras and other power firm executives for their alleged failure to dispatch to Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Cotelco) the 25 percent priority load dispatch from the geothermal plants.

The multi-sectoral Nagkakaisang Pinoy Kontra sa Brownout(Napikon sa Brownout), and Evangelista have the same goal, Rabaya said.

The Napikon, led by City Administrator Rodolfo Cabiles, Jr., concurrent president of the Board of Directors of Cotelco, was set to hold last April 28 a “Day of Mourning and Caravan” but was stalled after a call from Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo.

For Rabaya, the dialogue between the Napikon convenors and Energy Secretary Almendras on May 3 brought no positive results as residents are still suffering from long brownouts.

The dialogue was also attended by local officials, including Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco and Cotabato 2nd district Representative Nancy Catamco.

“I saw there’s an impasse in the dialogue.  And the court is the best venue where the deadlock can be settled. This is why the filing of the case against the DoE and other power executives was the best move, so far,” Rabara said. (Malu Manar/MindaNews)    source