Palawan city council declares state of emergency over blackouts

By Victoria Asuncion S. Mendoza

Friday 6th of July 2012

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, July 6 (PIA) -- The Sangguniang Panglunsod declared a state of emergency in a special session yesterday afternoon following a series of power outages in this city.

City Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, who acted on the petition of the tourism sector and complaints from the business community and other non-government organizations (NGOs), convened the council in a special session.

The council passed two resolutions – one, declaring a state of emergency and another resolution addressed to President Benigno Aquino III for his intervention in the looming power crisis.

In an interview over a local radio station, City Councilor Modesto Rodriguez, chairman of the Committee on Energy said the council’s action was a proactive move to prevent a bigger power supply problem in light of the delays in the bidding for a new power producer of the Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco).

The declaration of a state of emergency was suggested in an energy forum where a speedy and effective solution to the blackouts and load shedding caused by the breakdown of the generating machines of the independent power producers was discussed.

Rodriguez said the resolution is a request for President Aquino to direct the Department of Energy to allow an interim power producer as an additional source to fill in the shortfalls of the Palawan Power Generation Inc. (PPGI), the base load provider.

He said that the city mayor will personally go to Malacañang to hand in the resolution and echo the problems of the tourism industry and the business sector. (LBR/VSM/PIA-Palawan)