ILOILO City – The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) favored the call for congressional inquiry on the power blackouts in Panay island, including Guimaras and parts of Negros Occidental last week.
On Jan. 4, the LCP, through its national president, Cebu City’s Mayor Michael Rama, issued an official statement supporting the call of the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Inc. urging the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to conduct a thorough investigation as regards to the root causes of the power outage that commenced on Jan. 2 and continued with rotational brownouts until the morning of Jan. 5.
According to the LCP, ERC and NGCP must implement corrective measures immediately for the benefit of the affected areas especially that the prolonged blackout affected homes, local businesses, industries, and other economic activities.
“Power outages, in this day and age, are not only about ‘no lights’ but rather translate to risks and losses in our increasingly connected world, specifically on peace and order and security,” read part of the LCP statement.
It said that unplanned power outages greatly impact the economic activities in Western Visayas and could hamper its growth potential.
“Sustainable solutions must be explored, debated, and implemented for the residents greatly affected by such inefficiencies,” it added.
Aside from revenue losses, the power outage disrupted the normal operations of hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructures in the region.
On Jan. 3, the Department of Education (DepEd) Region 6 reported suspension of classes due to blackout in Iloilo city and province; Hamtic, Antique; Kalibo, Numancia and Banga in Aklan; and Maayon, President Roxas and Sigma in Capiz.
The power outage also posed a safety risk to residents, particularly children, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens.
The LCP further stated that it is concerned about reports circulating that the power outage was caused by a lack of investments in the country’s power grid or a lack of resources to update the aging grid needed to meet the growing demand for electricity.
“Providing the community with enough power supply is part of public service centered on improving the lives of the Filipino people,” the mayors league said.
It added: “The league commiserates with the affected residents of the power outage. You deserve better services. We support the 16 cities in Western Visayas and the position of the LCP national adviser and lloilo City’s Mayor Jarry P. Treñas as they dialogue with government agencies in exploring sustainable solutions to this power crisis.”
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, Jan. 11.
The deliberation is set for 9:30 a.m. at the Ramon V. Mitra Building’s Conference Rooms 3 and 4, Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
On Jan. 4, Cong. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, chair of the Energy Committee, sent a letter to lawmakers from Western Visayas announcing the second deliberation on the power outages in Panay/Western Visayas (House Resolutions 933, 934, and P44).
The committee’s first hearing was conducted on Aug. 15, 2023, following an earlier blackout in April 2023.
This initiative by the Congress followed requests from Panay Island leaders, led by Treñas and other lawmakers, for a congressional inquiry into the blackout.
“I am calling on our congressmen to initiate a congressional investigation of the incident since yesterday that has caused power interruption in Panay, Guimaras and Negros. In the same way I call on Senate to do the same,” said Treñas.
For his part, Cong. Lorenz Defensor (3rd District, Iloilo) highlighted the inconvenience caused by the blackout. He criticized the NGCP and power generation companies for unscheduled shutdowns and called for appropriate penalties.
KABATAAN party-list’s Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel, a resident of Iloilo City, expressed disappointment over the prolonged blackout and demanded transparency from NGCP./PN
