By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
SENATOR Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III called on Mindanaoans on Wednesday to resort to what he called as "democratic noise" to stop government's plan to sell power facilities to private firms.
"You make some democratic noise, you make some lobbying," Pimentel said.
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He assured the Mindanaoans that he also opposes the planned privatization of the Agus and Pulangi hyrdro-power complex.
Pimentel said the people can either take on the streets and stage protest actions, or launch a signature campaign to pressure President Benigno Aquino III into shooting down the privatization plan.
Pimentel, who hails from Cagayan de Oro City, said he supports the call of the Confederation of Local Chief Executives in Mindanao (Confed) headed by Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario against the privatization of power plants.
Del Rosario aired the group's demand to President Aquino during the Mindanao Power Summit in Davao City Friday last week.
Pimentel said he will sponsor a bill at the Senate to express support to the call of Confed.
"But that's just an ordinary bill," said Pimentel, who was in Davao City on Wednesday to keynote the University of the Philippines-Mindanao 15th commencement exercises.
Pimentel said he is not satisfied with Aquino's response to the call, but insisted the power summit served its purpose in really bringing together stakeholders in one gathering in an effort to address the current power crisis in Mindanao.
The senator said he was scheduled to go to Boracay last week but decided to go to Davao City instead to hear what the participants speak out their minds on the problem of energy lack.
What he heard was an honest-to-goodness presentation of positions by the different sectors, only that there was no meeting of the minds when the President made his response to the sentiments aired.
The Mindanao leaders, both from the government and private sector, had expected President Aquino to come up with a concrete solution to the power crisis and to hear their appeals against the privatization plan.
Aquino instead declared that people of Mindanao have to pay higher electricity rates if they want to avoid experiencing rotating brownouts.
"I do not want that privatized," Pimentel said of the hydro complex. When asked if he was satisfied with the response of the President on the different positions voiced out by stakeholders, Pimentel said: "Hindi (No)."
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on April 19, 2012.
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