Mayor wants power coop to probe high rates

By Carla N. Canet

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia has urged members of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) to dig deeper into reasons why power rates in the city have gone up.

Leonardia made the call as Ceneco is set to elect and install a new set of its Board of Directors.

The mayor said the election should serve as a fresh start for Ceneco officials to buckle down to work for the good of the cooperative and its consumers.

He said he envisions a working Ceneco board that will probe the increase in power rates that affected some consumers.

Leonardia said the Ceneco officials should determine once and for all why the previous Ceneco leadership bought expensive power and ignored the offer of Green Core, which has a much lower power cost.

The restive Ceneco consumers who attended the Annual General Assembly did not want former Ceneco president Ed Gasambelo to preside and even stay a minute longer because they believe that he was among the reasons the consumers currently suffered from a high cost of power.

On the other hand, the mayor expressed high hopes on Director Roy Cordova, whose advocacy is anchored on probing these questionable power supply deals.

Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, for his part, questioned how Gasambelo can preside over the Annual General Membership Assembly when his term of office as Ceneco president expired after the newly elected members of the board of directors have been sworn in.

Gasambelo was due to deliver his President's Report during the general assembly but unfortunately most of the consumers present there did not allow him to do so, but rather told him to photo copy his report and distribute it to the consumers.

Sayson asserted that reporting is different from presiding. He said Gasambelo could no longer preside the general assembly because he is no longer the sitting president.

The vice mayor also expressed his support to the review of the questionable contracts entered into by the previous Ceneco officials led by Gasambelo.

Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on June 28, 2011.