Sabotage reports mar power co-op’s referendum

TAGUM CITY—Missing names and ballots, and other issues marred the first rounds of a referendum to decide Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative’s (Daneco) bid to become a full-fledged entity.

In the towns of Maco, Mabini, Pantukan, Maragusan and Mawab in Compsotela Valley, Daneco employees tasked with supervising the referendum did not show up, leaving more than 2,000 member-consumers unable to vote on Saturday.

“It was sabotage. People who were supposed to facilitate the referendum refused to come, angering many voters,” Reynaldo Bandala, referendum chair, told reporters.

The incident capped a tumultuous week for one of the country’s oldest electric cooperatives. Last week, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) dismissed nine officials of Daneco’s board of directors and other officials for committing alleged irregularities.

The officials had sought the conversion of Daneco, founded in 1978, into a full-fledged cooperative under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). “(The NEA) people were afraid that member-consumers would decide in favor of the CDA,” Bandala said.

Dean Briz, the dismissed board president, said NEA Administrator Editha Bueno, in a letter dated May 3, asked the board to postpone the referendum due to appeals from the Tagum diocese and other civic groups, but the board agreed to proceed.

In Compostela Valley’s capital town of Nabunturan, unidentified people handed flyers to early voters even before the ballots could arrive, informing them that the referendum had been postponed on orders of Daneco and the NEA.

A number of voters believed, and returned home without casting a vote, according to Bandala.

On Sunday, another round of voting was held in Nabunturan and voters were able to cast their ballots this time.

Bandala said that despite the efforts to muddle the election, it would proceed as scheduled.