Aquino allies should take lead in tackling power crisis—lawmakers
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said the President’s congressional allies should take the lead in crafting solutions to the country’s energy problems. congress.gov.ph photo
A lawmaker has urged the House committee on energy to hold public hearings during the congressional break to tackle the power crisis in Mindanao and the looming one in Luzon.
Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teodoro Casiño said Batanes Representative Henedina Abad, energy committee chair and a member of the administration Liberal Party, should take the initiative and hold public hearings before Congress resumes sessions on May 7.
Zambales Representative Milagros Magsaysay said the President’s congressional allies should take the lead in crafting solutions to the country’s energy problems.
“I find it very offensive that deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte would ask the public to choose between a high price for electricity or no electricity at all. That is the reply of a lazy person,” Magsaysay said.
The lawmaker noted that in the previous Congress, the allies of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took the initiative to pass the Renewable Energy Act to encourage private corporations to invest in alternative fuel sources.
“We knew then the timeline for the shortage in the power supply and we prepared for it. It’s up to this administration to pursue these plans now that the power shortage is a reality,” she said.
Casiño said the hearing should come up not only with near-term solutions to the power problem but long-term solutions like establishing cheap and clean energy supplies such as from solar power.
Casiño has filed a bill pushing for solar-powered homes. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a similar bill in the Senate. Casiño said he was hopeful President Aquino’s allies would prioritize the bills.
For her part, Abad said she was amenable to holding hearings during the break.
“If there is a real need for it and we can muster a quorum, why not? In the meantime, there is a scheduled meeting of the joint congressional power committee on April 19 with the Mindanao power crisis as the principal agenda,” she said.
There is the proposed Mindanao Summit on April 13 in Davao, so there are a number of venues for those proposing solutions to present their proposals,” she added.
On Sunday, Magsaysay criticized the Aquino administration for “flip-flopping” on the power and oil crisis, noting that the President had no quick solution to the electricity shortage in Mindanao and other parts of the country.
At a press conference in Legazpi City, Magsaysay, a member of the House minority, said she could not see any solutions to the crisis from the economic managers of Mr. Aquino. With a report from Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon
