ILOILO – Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. is actively seeking to file a complaint against the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to address the damages caused by the power outage on Jan. 2, which affected residents in both the province and city of Iloilo, as well as the entire Panay Island.
Defensor, a lawyer, confirmed his personal involvement in drafting the complaint to ensure, he said, that the rights of the affected Ilonggos are upheld.
Consultations are currently underway between the Provincial Legal Office and City Legal Office regarding the complaint against NGCP.
The governor is also open to collaboration with other provincial governments, such as Capiz, which has expressed interest in joining the complaint.
The lawsuit by the city and provincial government of Iloilo aims to seek reparations for the economic losses incurred due to the blackout, estimated at nearly P2 billion for the city and P3.7 billion for the province.
Defensor has been vocal about the need for legal action to compensate the affected residents and to prevent future blackouts, during hearings conducted by the Committee on Energy of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Furthermore, Defensor is pressing the NGCP to improve grid management and expedite the completion of the third stage of the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project (CNP3), which is crucial for enhancing the region’s power infrastructure.
The CNP3 project, part of a larger initiative to link the islands of Cebu, Negros and Panay, involves significant construction and expansion work to improve the area’s electrical connectivity and stability./PN
