A coalition of members, consumers, owners (MCOs), and stakeholders, exasperated by the persistent power problems in the province, is urging national lawmakers and relevant government agencies to conduct a rigorous investigation into the Palawan Electric Cooperative to assess its effectiveness as the electric distributor.
The Palawan Electric Cooperative Members, Consumers, and Owners (Paleco MCOs) coalition contends that the cooperative has provided inadequate service for a long time and advocates for an investigation to determine if it should remain the electric distributor.
“Matagal nang nagdurusa ang mga Palaweño sa palpak na serbisyo ng Paleco. Nananawagan tayo sa mga kaukulang ahensya ng gobyerno at mga mambabatas na imbestigahan ang Paleco at alamin kung karapat-dapat pa itong magpatuloy bilang electric distributor sa aming lalawigan,” said Dr. Tony Cabrestante, a leader of Paleco MCOs, in a statement on Wednesday.
Cabrestante stated that the frequent power outages are affecting not only the MCOs but also the province’s economy, which is heavily dependent on domestic and international tourism and is still recovering from government lockdowns and natural calamities.
The coalition pointed out that the frequent occurrence of prolonged power outages, typically occurring beyond the National Power Corporation’s (Napocor) planned maintenance periods, has been negatively affecting businesses that rely on a stable and uninterrupted electricity supply for quite some time now.
“Hindi lang iyan, nagrereklamo na sa atin ang maraming Palawenyong negosyante na nalulugi na sila dahil sa patay-sindi at hindi magandang serbisyo ng Paleco. Apektado na ang turismo sa aming probinsya,” the coalition said.
Between November 26 and 29, the Paleco MCOs observed multiple brownout occurrences, with durations ranging from four to six hours.
On December 6, during a meeting of the Provincial Board’s energy committee presided over by Board Member Ryan Maminta, Paleco, under the direction of General Manager Engr. Rez Contrivida, explained that all unplanned power outages that occurred during that timeframe were due to line faults in the 69 kV transmission line under Napocor’s maintenance rather than issues with their distribution system.
Paleco also strongly asserted in their press conference on December 13 that the prevailing power problems are a legacy from prior administrations, but they are taking proactive measures to resolve them.
Furthermore, Paleco openly acknowledges specific challenges and urges the public to avoid excessive skepticism, as the present administration is committed to fostering trust through transparency.
The group asserted that there is a need for the government and legislators to reevaluate the potential revocation of Paleco’s franchise as a measure to alleviate the hardships faced by the people of Palawan.
The Paleco MCOs said they recently appealed to Senator Raffy Tulfo, the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and a native of Palawan, to delve into the ongoing power issues in the province.
While deliberating the Department of Energy’s (DOE) budget for 2024, Senator Bong Go urged the department to comprehensively examine the frequent power outages in remote areas across the nation, placing special emphasis on Palawan and Mindoro.
In the 18th Congress, the coalition stated that former 3rd District Palawan Representative Atty. Gil Acosta took action by filing House Resolution 1766, aiming to investigate the inconsistent performance of Paleco. He was so committed to his resolution that he described Palawan as the “brownout capital of the Philippines,” highlighting the regular power outages experienced across various parts of the province.
Acosta pointed out that even then-President Rodrigo Duterte expressed frustration with Paleco’s inadequate service and even contemplated revoking its franchise due to the province’s power woes.
In a subsequent hearing, the group said Paleco made commitments to implement various measures to resolve the power interruptions, but regrettably, these commitments have yet to be fulfilled to this day.
The coalition’s fight against Paleco started in 2021, when the cooperative was heavily scrutinized for appointing allegedly corrupt members to its Board of Directors (BOD) amid existing power and service issues.
Paleco MCOs said they represent the sentiments of over 132,000 members of power cooperative in the province of Palawan.
Maminta from the Provincial Board’s energy committee previously announced plans to propose creating a task force dedicated to tackling the ongoing power problems in Palawan.
The issues resulting from Paleco’s obvious flaws, according to Maminta, prompted the committee to pass a resolution creating the task force.
Palawan News made efforts to seek a response from Paleco regarding the story, yet had not received any reply by the time of writing this report.
