MINDANAO: STATE OF CALAMITY PROCLAMATION SET
MANILA, MARCH 11, 2010 (MALAYA) BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR (DOE to gain ‘greater flexibility’ in meeting Mindanao power crisis)THE National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) yesterday recommended to President Arroyo that Mindanao, which has been suffering from a power crisis due to the dry spell, be placed under a state of calamity.
Arroyo was scheduled to preside over the NDCC meeting after attending the Armed Forces change of command ceremony but she had to rush to Malacañang to attend to courtesy calls from ambassadors and other foreign representatives.
Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza stood in for Arroyo and immediately left with a draft state of calamity declaration after the reports of the Department of Energy (DOE) on the power crisis and of the Department of the Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) on El Niño.
Present at the meeting were NDCC chair Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, Science Secretary Estrella Alabastro, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque, Defense Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina and Press Assistant Secretary Kristin O’Brien.
"After listening to the DOE and our PAGASA, I think it’s really necessary that we declare a state of calamity in Mindanao," Gonzales said.
He said they did not put a duration period in the proposed proclamation, hoping the power crisis would be solved soon.
"Our problem kasi is Mindanao is more dependent on hydropower and the supply of water has really been dangerously low. So we hope that there will be rains or typhoons by July," he added.
Gonzales and Jesus Dureza, presidential adviser for Mindanao and concurrent Mindanao Development Authority chair, said the declaration of a state of calamity would enable local governments to access their calamity funds.
Gonzales said the declaration gives the DOE a "greater degree of flexibility" to pursue measures that would help "enhance generation" but would not need congressional approval.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Prospero Nograles earlier informed the President the two chambers might not be able to muster a quorum if a special session is called because the legislators are busy campaigning.
He said these measures will be discussed during meetings between the government and the private sector in Mindanao starting on Thursday in Davao.
He said among the measures are the tapping of privately owned generators, the leasing of generation sets, and the adoption of night shifts in the workplace.
Gonzales said the state of calamity would not necessarily solve the power problem in Mindanao but could hasten the stabilization and normalization of supply.
Dureza said Mindanao has a 700-megawatt power supply shortage and some areas are experiencing five to eight hours of brownout daily.
He said only Davao City is unaffected because it has back-up generators.
He said the problem is already taking its toll on people and businesses in Mindanao.
"It’s going to really hurt. It’s devastating to the economy. I think it will be felt long term. In the short term, the productivity level is already affected right now. We just have to make do with what we have. So may mga doables nga, that’s what we’d like to do," Dureza said.
He said power barges will be transferred from Luzon and Visayas to Mindanao after the DOE declared that the power supply in Visayas is already stable and while power in Luzon is starting to normalize.
"The DOE will now map out certain doables which the declaration of a state of calamity will trigger. It will be confined strictly within the parameters of the order declaring a calamity," he added.
Dureza said the private sector has promised its cooperation, with some companies saying they are willing to adopt night shifts despite the added costs.
He said the measures do not include contracting independent power producers or buying generators as the government is not allowed to generate power under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
The private sector, however, could undertake such projects and this will be among the subjects that would be discussed by Reyes with the Mindanao Electric Power Alliance and Mindanao Business Council during the Davao meeting.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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