Garin: Some Iloilo residents now getting sick as power remains scarce

MANILA, Philippines — Several residents of Iloilo province have started to get sick due to unbearable heat as the power outage gripping towns in Panay Island continues, Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin said on Friday.

Garin, a former health secretary, claimed that aside from businesses being hit by the outage that started last Tuesday, people have complained about the heat due to electric fans and air-conditioning units not having power to run.

“Apektado rin naman [ng brownout] ang buong Pilipinas dahil lahat tayo nagcocontribute sa ekonomiya. Hindi lang ‘yan ang dami na rin pong nagkakasakit kasi sobrang mainit,” Garin said in an interview, transcripts of which were shared by her office.

(The brownouts affect the entire country because we all contribute to the economy.  But aside from that, a lot of people are getting sick because it’s too hot already.)

Garin also noted that some of the fisherfolk in the different Iloilo towns have been forced to sell their catch at a low price just so it would not be lost to spoilage.

“Ang problema ‘yung iba hindi nakakapagnegosyo ay nawawalan ng kita. ‘Yung iba na output-based ang kanilang kita apektado. ‘Yung mga mangingisda naman ‘yung kanilang isda ay ibebenta na lang ng murang mura dahil wala kang ice [na paglalagyan ng isda],” she added.

(The problem is some people cannot afford to resume their businesses and therefore lose income.  Others whose livelihoods are output-based are also affected.  Fisherfolk on the other hand are forced to sell fish at a very low price because they do not have ice needed to store their catch.)

Households in Panay Island including other areas like Guimaras and some parts of Negros Island were plunged into darkness last Tuesday, which according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NCGP) was caused by unscheduled maintenance shutdowns of different power plants.

READ: NGCP asserts need for better resource planning after Panay power outage

Several lawmakers from both the House and the Senate have called for a probe of the issue, as the impact on livelihood, schools, and businesses has been severe, with Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas labeling it an “economic sabotage.”

Earlier, Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda shared a document showing that the House committee on energy headed by former speaker and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco will start its probe of the issue on Thursday, January 11.

READ: Iloilo solon calls for probe into massive power outage in Panay

Garin said Treñas believes Iloilo City alone was already losing P400 million to P500 million a day due to the power interruptions, which means the cost of the blackouts may already be at P1.5 billion since it started last Tuesday.

The lawmaker believes it is only right that the issue be probed as the NGCP has failed to address the problem, and find out who is responsible for it.

“Dapat talaga imbestigahan kung bakit ito nangyayari at ‘yung imbestigasyon na ‘yun ay hindi lamang mahinto sa pagtatanong. Dapat malaman natin kung bakit nagkaganito. Sino ba ‘yung dapat managot,” Garin said.

(We should really investigate why this happened and this should not end at questioning only.  We should know why it led to this, and who should be made accountable.)

“Adding insult to injury is the constant finger-pointing between NGCP and the power generators. Ang mahal mahal na nga ng kuryente, hindi mo naman maramdaman yung quality of service (They charge so much for electricity, but we cannot feel the quality of service),” she added.