Newsbriefs

VECO POSTS ROTATIONAL BROWNOUTS LIST

THE Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) started posting lists of areas where rotational brownouts will occur starting yesterday.

“The exact time and lengths of the interruption will depend on the available power,” Veco corporate communications manager Theresa Sederiosa said.

She urged customers to check their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter for the list. The Visayas grid had a shortage of 137 megawatts (MW) yesterday.

In an interview yesterday Elmer Cruz, National Grid Corp. of Philippines corporate communications officer said the Visayas peak demand was at 1,168 MW yesterday while supply was only at 1,031 MW.

Of the 131 MW shortage, Veco has a curtailment of 40 MW or 20 MW higher than last Tuesday’s shortage.

Cruz said customers in the Visayas will likely experience partial power interruptions at 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. when demand is at its highest.

He added that they are now working double time to restore damaged transmission facilities including 248 transmission towers and 198 poles in the Visayas region, most of these are in Panay Island. Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap

DTI REMINDS TRADERS ON PRICE CONTROL

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) yesterday reminded businessmen to observe the price control rule for basic commodities in areas devastated by supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

DTI Regional Director Nelia Navarro said they have been monitoring business establishments to check if they comply with the “price freeze” order that was imposed following the declaration of a state of national calamity.

“We sent warnings to businessmen to comply with the price freeze order. We’re serious in our campaign. We’re not joking here. The law has to be enforced,” she told reporters yesterday.

Navarro said they will also monitor prices of construction materials as affected families begin to rebuild their storm-stricken houses.

She said DTI representatives already checked the big stores in Danao City and Bogo City.

Thus far, Navarro said basic commodities in the big malls are sold within reasonable prices.

Aside from checking the prices of basic commodities, she said they also want to make sure that there are enough supply for consumers. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol

TRAINING DIRECTOR FOUND DEAD

THE remains of a training director was found outside the Regional Training School near the Daniel Romualdez Airport in barangay Costa Brava, San Jose Tacloban City last Tuesday morning.

Supt. Renato Dugan, Police Regional Office (PRO) information officer, said Supt. Joker Cuanso’s body was found but they do not have any information on the 50 trainees.

The RTS-8 school is located a few meters away from the shore and several victims were trapped inside the building.

Dugan and Cuanso were classmates as Tagapaglunsad Class of 1993 in the Philippine National Police Academy.

Regional Director Ritchie Posadas of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) confirmed that two CIDG-8 members died.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) set up a One-Stop Shop for Central Visayas at the Benito Ebuen Air Base to receive donations from 22 countries. Correspondent Chito O. Aragon

MORE COUNSELORS NEEDED

THE Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA) Cebu chapter is inviting more mental health experts to conduct stress debriefing for typhoon victims in northern Cebu and other affected families in eastern Visayas.

“The reactions that we see from the victims are normal but the situation that they experienced is not normal,” Dr. Glenda Basubas, PHMA- Cebu president, said.

Dr. Basubas said the Oct. 15 earthquake and the devastation caused by supertyphoon “Yolanda” subjected affected Cebuano families to high amounts of stress.

She said these twin catastrophes are especially stressful to six-year-olds who understand what’s happening to them.

Dr. Basubas said the children will undergo play therapy to ventilate their emotions.

“If they are classified into high risk cases there will be a follow up counseling,” she added. Correspondent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag