MANILA, Philippines?Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes Wednesday said the government is now banking on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s declaring a state of calamity in Mindanao to help solve the worsening power situation in the island.

This option will allow the government to tap the calamity fund and fast-track the procurement process as projects undertaken under a state of calamity are exempted from bidding, he said. This option also would not need legislative approval.

Palace officials said they were still waiting for the President to decide if she would adopt the recommendation made by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) for her to declare a state of calamity in Mindanao.

Under the law that created the NDCC, the President has the power to declare a state of calamity, said presidential spokesperson Ricardo Saludo.

Access to funds

This will allow the national and local governments to access calamity funds, Saludo said.

The Local Government Code mandates that five percent of the budget of a local government be set aside as a calamity fund, he noted.

?If there is a declaration of a state of calamity in Mindanao, you could use the five percent,? Saludo said.

Saludo stressed the importance of the government being able to take action on the power crisis now, noting that the ban on undertaking projects in an election period will soon take effect.

But he noted that a declaration of a state of calamity will ?allow for certain activities that are urgently needed to be exempted from the ban.?

The government has been constrained from acting with dispatch to plug the acute power supply shortages in Mindanao because under the Electric Industry Power Reform Act of 2001 that privatized the power sector, it is prohibited from generating and selling energy.

Congress approval

The President would need congressional approval to circumvent the ban but her plan to call a special session of Congress did not fly because congressional leaders said they would be unable to muster a quorum as many legislators were out campaigning for the May election.

The special congressional authority would have allowed Ms Arroyo to set into motion the process of acquiring the modular generating sets needed to generate additional capacity of 160 MW for Mindanao.

Reyes said the acquisition of the generating sets, to cost as much as P5.5 billion, was the quickest way to solve the problem.

According to Reyes, another option would be to let the private sector lease or import the generating sets. He said several companies have already expressed an interest in buying or leasing these diesel-powered gensets.

But this will come at a cost, said Reyes, as these private companies will likely charge for their power a hefty P14 per kWh, more than four times the current P3 per kWh, since fuel oil is more expensive than hydropower sources.

Time running out

He said it would take two to four months to put in place the generating sets, suggesting that it might be too late to be implemented in time for the May elections.

Reyes said the Department of Energy will be implementing a supply augmentation program, under which big industrial firms or commercial enterprises that generate their own electricity requirements will be asked to sell their excess capacities.

During peak hours, these big industries may also be asked to use their own fuel generating sets instead of using electricity from the Mindanao Grid.

Reyes said he still has to find out how much capacity can be freed up and be made available to the Mindanao Grid through this program.

But if the worst happens and the private sector is unable to undertake the leasing of the generator sets, then the ?government will have to do it, because we cannot let the situation go on,? Reyes said.

In Isabela, Gov. Grace Padaca has appealed for help from government and the international community saying that hundreds of thousands of Isabelans were at risk of going hungry.

The drought has destroyed Isabela?s crops, the damage estimated at P3.6 billion, or almost half of the total damage of P8 billion across the country. With TJ Burgonio