President Rodrigo Duterte during his visit to Puerto Princesa City on Saturday, November 10, 2018. His visit was to join the celebration of the Subaraw Biodiversity Festival this year in line with the "Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) Day." (Photo courtesy of Leila B. Dagot/PIA)
MANILA -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte urged the energy distribution cooperative in Palawan to improve the province’s power situation or else he would expropriate its franchise and sell it to “major players” who can do it.
The President gave the ultimatum Saturday to the Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco) and provincial government officials led by Mayor Lucilo Bayron and Governor Jose Alvarez during a visit here to join the Subaraw Biodiversity Festival 2018, in line with the commemoration of the “Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) Day.”
“I hold nothing against cooperatives, they are pioneering spirits. But on the extreme, maybe, I will give you about towards the end of the year [to have] a new set up that would provide enough energy so that it can operate and it can move. You have to upgrade your source of energy. Kung hindi, ang gagawin ko maghahanap ako ng may pera talaga – China, nangangati ang kamay nyan just to get hold of developments here (If not, what I will do is I will look for a [power player] with money – China, its hands are just itching to get hold of developments here),” he said.
Duterte made this remark while lamenting Palawan’s power supply crisis causing frequent power outages.
“Yung inyong sitwasyon dito, yung inyong ilaw dito (Your situation here, your lights here) at this late of the date of development in the country, may brownout kayo na (you experience brownouts) six to eight hours--that is not acceptable to me,” Duterte said.
“Kung walang power, walang gumagalaw, walang produkto (If there’s no power, there’s no one working, there’s no products). That is the problem. I will simplify it for you,” he added.
Duterte said he would buy out cooperatives and allow major players to improve the province’s power situation, noting that the long-term power outages can be very critical to the progress and growth of the whole province and the everyday lives of occupants.
“I will expropriate your franchise. Bilihin ko ‘yan at a valuation that is fair – just compensation. Kung ganoon [lagi] dito… to end this impasse, i-expropriate ko yan, pabayaran ‘yang cooperative then ipabigay ko sa mag-o-operate na bago. If you want, may mga major players. I don’t care kung sino. Marami ‘yan sila, may [mga] partners. Gusto ninyo? (I will buy it at a valuation that is fair – just compensation. If it’s always like this her… to end this impasse, I will expropriate it, I will have the cooperative paid then I will have it be given to a new operator. If you want, there are major players. I don’t care who. There are many there, they have partners. Would you like it?),” he said.
He added that he will not seize Paleco just to grab hold of it as a business, but the city and the province need to develop with the help of reliable power service.
If it can provide the energy requirement that is needed before the end of the year, then he will not interfere.
“Either you do it or I will do it for you. I will expropriate. There are basic powers of government - police power, the power of taxation… power of eminent domain. If there is not enough money, you have to bring in help. If there is no relief in sight, better begin to talk to the people who can help us,” President Duterte pointed out.
He told Bayron and Alvarez that he wants to sit with them in Malacañang to talk about the problem and help them find a solution.
Puerto Princesa City and the whole province have been dealing with persistent power outages since early last year.
Paleco, the distribution franchisee, has blamed the prolonged electricity disruptions on the failure of its independent power producers (IPPs) to upgrade their facilities to deliver reliable energy supply when the demand peaks.
Based on the demand and supply for the Palawan main grid, the actual peak in the province as of October is 52.22 megawatts (MWs) opposed to the actual peak for the year in May which is 53.85 MWs and the forecasted 50.97 MWs. (PNA)
