Do-nothing Noynoy
- Written by Ninez Cacho-Olivares
- Saturday, 23 March 2013 00:00
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- 7 comments
Noynoy the other day assured that come election day, there will be no brownouts in Mindanao.
Gee, that’s hardly reassuring to Mindanaoans, considering that they have been plagued by daily brownouts for sometime, and without Noynoy and his Palace boys doing anything about these brownouts at all.
In 2011, there was already issued a dire warning of the danger of more and more brownouts hitting Mindanao, and even Metro Manila.
The warnings have been repeated in 2012 of a power crisis in Mindanao in 2013, again there was inaction on the part of Noynoy.
Despite these early warnings, and with brownouts already greeting the people of Mindanao for some time, Noynoy and his administration failed to do anything at all.
One recalls that in some kind of Mindanao summit, when the problem of the continuous power crisis in Mindanao was the agenda, Noynoy said something to the effect that if Mindanaoans wanted power, they would have to pay for more expensive power rates, adding that Mindanao has been enjoying cheap power rates through hydroelectric power, and that this could no longer continue.
That was pretty unfeeling of him to say that, especially as the Mindanaoans — and for that matter, the entire Philippine population — were, and are still reeling from high prices and high taxes, not to mention less and less jobs, and more and more poverty under the Aquino III government.
What was noted, however, was that even as Noynoy threatened the Mindanaoans with higher power prices, he did nothing at all to resolve the ongoing power problem in that region.
Now the problem has escalated, and all Noynoy can guarantee is that on election day, no brownouts will occur.
His “instant” solution to the power crisis in Mindanao for election day is to use the dirty “diesel,” in replacement of the hydro power supply of electricity in Mindanao as an alternative to resolve the massive brownouts being experienced by hundreds of residents and industries in the southern region.
He even said the Department of Energy already has a solution to the power problem.
“Now, to solve the crisis in Mindanao, probably by tomorrow, Secretary Petilla will be presenting an immediate solution,” Noynoy was quoted as saying.
He repeated what he said a year or so back on cheap rates that cannot continue, saying that the electricity rate in Mindanao has been cheap for years because of its being hydro-based. The natural flow of water from the vast Maria Cristina falls is the major source of hydro-power that is distributed throughout Mindanao.
So why didn’t he move to face the power crisis in Mindanao head on then? There were 13 recommendations made by the Mindanao Power Summit in April last year, part of which was to accelerate the rehabilitation of all the Agus hydro plants not producing their designed capacity; accelerate the implementation of the Balo-i flood control project and rehabilitation of the Pulangui plant to produce at least 254 megawatts of cheap, renewable energy; accelerate the construction of renewable energy power plants instead of coal plants, as well as compel Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.-National Power Corp. to deploy its power barges to Mindanao to take up the power shortfall while additional capacity is being created from renewable energy sources.
Noynoy’s solution again is for diesel power generators, which definitely will cause power rates to soar, which again would put more people in the poorhouse.
Noynoy appears to be as laidback as his mother in facing really big problems and crises. Cory was already warned for a long time about the looming power crisis in the mid-80s, but she and her administrators did nothing about it, the result of which was the daily 12-hour blackouts that took a toll on business, and eventually, relying on power generators, followed by the onerous Ramos independent power producer and public-private partnership, and we now have become the country that has the second highest, if not the highest, power rates.
In 2011, there was already issued a dire warning of the danger of more and more brownouts hitting Mindanao, and even Metro Manila.
The warnings have been repeated in 2012 of a power crisis in Mindanao in 2013, again there was inaction on the part of Noynoy.
Despite these early warnings, and with brownouts already greeting the people of Mindanao for some time, Noynoy and his administration failed to do anything at all.
One recalls that in some kind of Mindanao summit, when the problem of the continuous power crisis in Mindanao was the agenda, Noynoy said something to the effect that if Mindanaoans wanted power, they would have to pay for more expensive power rates, adding that Mindanao has been enjoying cheap power rates through hydroelectric power, and that this could no longer continue.
That was pretty unfeeling of him to say that, especially as the Mindanaoans — and for that matter, the entire Philippine population — were, and are still reeling from high prices and high taxes, not to mention less and less jobs, and more and more poverty under the Aquino III government.
What was noted, however, was that even as Noynoy threatened the Mindanaoans with higher power prices, he did nothing at all to resolve the ongoing power problem in that region.
Now the problem has escalated, and all Noynoy can guarantee is that on election day, no brownouts will occur.
His “instant” solution to the power crisis in Mindanao for election day is to use the dirty “diesel,” in replacement of the hydro power supply of electricity in Mindanao as an alternative to resolve the massive brownouts being experienced by hundreds of residents and industries in the southern region.
He even said the Department of Energy already has a solution to the power problem.
“Now, to solve the crisis in Mindanao, probably by tomorrow, Secretary Petilla will be presenting an immediate solution,” Noynoy was quoted as saying.
He repeated what he said a year or so back on cheap rates that cannot continue, saying that the electricity rate in Mindanao has been cheap for years because of its being hydro-based. The natural flow of water from the vast Maria Cristina falls is the major source of hydro-power that is distributed throughout Mindanao.
So why didn’t he move to face the power crisis in Mindanao head on then? There were 13 recommendations made by the Mindanao Power Summit in April last year, part of which was to accelerate the rehabilitation of all the Agus hydro plants not producing their designed capacity; accelerate the implementation of the Balo-i flood control project and rehabilitation of the Pulangui plant to produce at least 254 megawatts of cheap, renewable energy; accelerate the construction of renewable energy power plants instead of coal plants, as well as compel Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.-National Power Corp. to deploy its power barges to Mindanao to take up the power shortfall while additional capacity is being created from renewable energy sources.
Noynoy’s solution again is for diesel power generators, which definitely will cause power rates to soar, which again would put more people in the poorhouse.
Noynoy appears to be as laidback as his mother in facing really big problems and crises. Cory was already warned for a long time about the looming power crisis in the mid-80s, but she and her administrators did nothing about it, the result of which was the daily 12-hour blackouts that took a toll on business, and eventually, relying on power generators, followed by the onerous Ramos independent power producer and public-private partnership, and we now have become the country that has the second highest, if not the highest, power rates.
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