VOL. 8 ISSUE 225 • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2016
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P 15.00 • 20 PAGES COASTAL CLEANUP. Task Force Davao personnel participate in a cleanup drive at Sta. Ana wharf in Davao City yesterday which aims to beautify and maintain the cleanliness at one of the city’s main gateways. The project was initiated by Task Force Davao, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), and stall owners inside the wharf. Lean Daval Jr.
AQUINO: SOLVE POWER PROBLEM
President gives deadline to address power crisis By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
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abf@edgedavao.net
HE National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will closely coordinate with other government agencies to address the power problems in Mindanao. In an interview on Thursday night, NGCP spokesperson lawyer Cynthia Alabanza said President Benigno Aquino gave a deadline to all concerned agencies especially in the power sector to solve the problem on or before the election in May. “It will give a multilateral solution because this will not be done by only one. It will
need more to help each other to solve the problem,” Alabanza said. She said the NGCP is faced with a variety of problems, including the bombings of towers since December, vegetation within the area, and the right of way (ROW) of the transmission lines. Alabanza said 19 towers were bombed in 2015, of which nine were toppled and six were damaged. The attackes caused power interruptions in parts of Mindanao. This year, two additional towers were bombed, she said.
In last Thursday’s Principals’ Meeting of the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee (MPMC) held in Davao City, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada said the bombings and ROW issues delay and hinder progress for the people of Mindanao. Monsada said early this week, President Aquino created the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Security of Energy Facilities (IATFSEF) to be spearheaded by the Department of Energy (DOE).
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3,000 coops, CDA push Agus-Pulangi takeover T HE Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and some 3,000 primary cooperatives in Mindanao totaling 4 million members renewed their commitment to advance the movement to take over ownership , management and operation of the Agus-Pulangi hydro-electric power plant (HEPP) in Mindanao during a strategic planning of the One Mindanao Energy Coop (1MIECoop) Federation in Tagum City last week. This was learned from Norma R. Pereyras , chairperson of the multi-billionaire Tagum Cooperative, who now heads
the 1MIECoop federation. CDA chairman Orlando R. Ravanera attended the January 25-26 strategic planning which was hosted by Tagum Coop. Ravanera is one of the pioneers and active supporters of the federation which was formed by the cooperatives from the six Mindanao regions during the One Mindanao Cooperative Summit in Cagayan de Oro middle of last year. The summit was supported by no less than former Energy secretary Jericho Petilla who represented President Aquino.
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