Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Senator Manny Pacquiao. FILE PHOTOS / SENATE PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Manny Pacquiao, president of the ruling PDP-Laban party, unleashed withering jabs at the party’s vice chair, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, for attending to politics before the power problems currently hounding Luzon Island.
“It is saddening to think that some of our officials, who are supposed to attend to the situation, to our problems, are prioritizing politics,” said the 42-year-old eight-division world boxing champion in a privilege speech at the Senate on Wednesday.
“I’m talking directly to Secretary Cusi … Let us prioritize helping. When it comes to politics, the party, we’ll settle that in the right time,” the senator added.
Pacquiao, one of President Duterte’s staunchest allies in the Senate, delivered the speech after Cusi insisted on convening a national council meeting in Cebu City last Monday that analysts deem as a promotion of the presidential aspiration of President Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque admitted that the President was the one who directed Cusi to convene the national assembly.
Cusi also revealed to journalists that Pacquiao has signified his intention to run for president in 2022, but the party has yet to decide on its standard-bearer.
Bigger problems
Pacquiao, in turn, seemed to challenge the Palace’s admission and declared that the event was “not sanctioned” as he urged his supporters to ignore invitations to the event. Only about 100 attended the Cebu meeting.
“Five years ago, Secretary Cusi declared that there is no looming power crisis and here we are, having brownouts. Nasa red alert pa naman tayo ngayon (We are actually on red alert),” Pacquiao said in his speech as parts of Metro Manila suffered power outages amid soaring temperatures.
“We’re expecting bigger problems pertaining to power supply, have we done enough preparations for a surge in power supply demand this summer? This is a recurring problem. We cannot rely on the same strategies to solve this problem on the rapidly growing demand for power supply,” he added.
Pacquiao joined other senators in calling for the accountability of concerned agencies.
“We need proactive leaders, we need dedicated officials who will fulfill their sworn duties and responsibilities to the Filipino people,” he said.
“I have repeatedly called for a stop to politicking. We have so many problems that should be addressed and solved,” he added.
But Cusi, in response to severe criticisms, said he continued to attend to his duties as energy secretary.
“It doesn’t mean when I attend the PDP-Laban [meeting or court appointments] that I am not doing my job at the Department of Energy (DOE),” Cusi said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
“I work every day during pandemic, I report to the office and we really attend to that,” Cusi added. “I am aware of the responsibilities. I am aware of the importance of energy and making sure it is addressed.”
But Pacquiao slammed Cusi as “incompetent” and said such incompetence had seriously embarrassed the PDP-Laban, including its chair, President Duterte.
Senate probe to resume
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, son and former leader of the party founded by his father, the late Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr., backed Pacquiao’s proposal to resume a Senate investigation of the country’s energy situation.
“This time we can have a Senate hearing that is more investigative in nature, wherein we will be asking more pointed, complex questions, and for senators to be more demanding and convey to [resource persons] that ‘we remember every word that you are saying,’” Pimentel said.
“I hope this is not part of a scenario to make consumers suffer from outages, and then make them feel that there is now a need to increase the price of electricity,” he added.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who is chair of the Senate committee on energy, said Cusi and other DOE officials had assured senators in an April 27 hearing that the country faced no potential brownout, and is assured of continued supply during vaccine rollout.
Gatchalian estimated that around 339,000 households in 90 barangays and 16 towns and cities lost their power, including areas with ongoing vaccination, while Cusi was attending the political meeting.
“We have been caught off guard by these brownouts, and immediately, our main concerns are our vaccination centers, those workers who are working from home and the students on distance learning,” he said.
He said the committee would relaunch an in-depth investigation into the power outlook of the country and “try to look for permanent solutions.”
Sen. Grace Poe backed Pacquiao’s concerns about the adverse impact of the lingering brownouts in the country on investors’ confidence.
“But our concern is not only on the shortage of supply, but also on the high cost of electricity. But whatever the causes of these problems, what matters is we make people accountable,” she said.
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