ILOILO City – Officials and residents of this city appeared to have been excluded from congressional deliberations on applications for a franchise to distribute electricity here. The Lower House’s committee on legislative franchises approved the franchise application of More Minerals Corp. (MMC) without hearing what Ilonggos have to say, said Councilor R Leone Gerochi.
Gerochi is readying a proposed resolution urging the city government to “intervene…to ensure that the welfare of consumers is upheld and protected.”
“Kapila na sila mag-hearing sa Congress pero it seems wala kita ginapangayuan sang sentimiento diri sa syudad,” said Gerochi.
Aside from MMC’s, the Lower House’s committee on legislative franchises is also deliberating on the application for franchise extension of Panay Electric Company (PECO).
According to Gerochi, the city government should assert that it participate “in all the processes related to application and approval of the franchise” and push for terms and conditions favorable to its residents.
“Supposedly may ara kita representative sa Congress nga maglantaw kag mag intervenar to ensure nga protected kita but I doubt our representative will meddle in this,” said Gerochi without elaborating.
Cong. Jerry Treñas has been mum on the franchise applications of MMC and PECO.
Members of the Lower House’s committee on legislative franchises may not understand the power situation in Iloilo City and could make decisions detrimental to Ilonggos, said Gerochi.
“Wala sila gaistar diri. They will not be feeling the consequences sang ila decision,” he said. “Kita ‘ya ma-suffer kon sala ila decision.”
There must be transparency in the deliberations of the Lower House’s committee on legislative franchises, stressed Gerochi.
“For example, pila ang power rates? May power supply agreement? Ano ang arrangement, among others,” he said.
Early this week, the Private Electric Power Operators Association (PEPOA) warned that this highly urbanized city could suffer from a power crisis if the franchise to distribute electricity is given to a company that has no distribution system and would have to build one from scratch.
“We were shocked to learn of the hasty approval of the franchise application of MMC to the detriment of the incumbent distribution utility, (PECO).This development is deeply concerning to us as it puts a highly urbanized city like Iloilo at risk,” stressed PEPOA.
According to Atty. Ranulfo Ocampo, PEPOA president, MMC does not have the technical capability to operate and maintain a power distribution utility in Iloilo City by the mere fact that it is a mining company.
PECO, on the other hand, has been in the power distribution business for 95 years already.
PEPOA also emphasized that PECO has played a key role in Iloilo City’s economic growth these past five years.
“Its ability to support big investors in terms of their power requirements is seen in the massive growth of the city in recent years. Because of this, the city of Iloilo brings in high economic returns to the Philippines and continues to do so. It does not make sense at all to change that economic growth negatively by approving the electric distribution franchise of MMC,” said Atty. Ranulfo Ocampo, PEPOA president./PN
