MINDANAO DAILY TRUTH | JUSTICE | PROGRESS
Volume XI, No. 126
www.mindanaodailynews.com
Thursday, March 10, 2022
P15.00
Lifting of COVID restrictions will revitalize economy – MinDA Fire hits 32 houses in Iligan, 72 families left homeless By DIVINA M. SUSON
By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV MindaNews
DAVAO CITY -- The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) hopes the lifting of all coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in Davao City will revitalize the local economy after two years of stunted growth caused by the impact of the pandemic on the local industries. MinDA Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro told MindaNews on Wednesday that the lifting of restrictions was a welcome development after two years of tight quarantine controls implemented to control the spread of the infections, as these regulations took a heavy toll on the economy. “As we inch our way towards transitioning back to pre-COVID levels given the continued drop in cases, we hope the lifting of restrictions and allowing businesses to operate at full capacity will steer us to accelerated economic Officials discuss points on the CAMELCO issue during the Power Summit held at Mambajao, Camiguin on Thursday recovery by the end of the (March 3, 2022). From left - Camiguin Cong. XJ Romualdo, Camiguin Gov. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, and DOE Usec. year,” he said.
ILIGAN CITY -- A total of approximately P750 thousand in properties and belonging were burnt when fire struck here on Tuesday morning, March 8. The fire incident burned down a total of 32 houses in Barangay Saray. Atleast 76 families or 220 individuals were displace. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported no injuries due to the fire. FO3 Joanne Gasal, information officer of BFP Iligan said they are still conducting further investigations to determine the cause of the incident. Gasal said the alarm status was raise to task force Bravo prompting the fire trucks from private establishments to respond. Felix William Fuentebella. photo by gerry lee gorit
See REVITALIZE, page 11
Power summit addresses energy concerns in Camiguin as its debts pile up By GERRY LEE GORIT Correspondent
CAMIGUIN – Efforts are now being planned up to address the growing concerns of the public over the power situation here as financial obligations of the island-province’s sole power utility to its creditors has soared to almost P1 billion pesos over the years. In a power summit conducted by the Department of Energy (DOE) held here March 3, it was reported that the Camiguin Electric Cooperative’s (CAMELCO) unpaid debts to power producers soared from P47
million in 2018 to P295 million in 2021, not counting the P426 million loans it incurred for many years. Based on House Committee Report 1333 filed by Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus “XJ” Romualdo, the power summit focused on resolving key issues associated CAMELCO such as high power rates due to overcontracting, ballooning debts and financial losses, and its poor and unreliable service to consumers. Referencing R.A. 9136 or ‘The Department of Energy Act of 1992’ and other relevant government issu-
ances, a formal performance assessment on the cooperative’s functional aspects from 2019 to 2020 was done by the DOE through the Electric Power Industry Management Bureau (DOEEPIMB). It was observed that power outages on the island were mostly due to trees and vegetation. CAMELCO has also not established protocols for power outages and load dropping in accordance with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). That said, CAMELCO
was advised to increase efforts to minimize outages, develop a preventive maintenance plan, and a load dropping protocol. DOE-EPIMB Division Chief Luningning G. Baltazar said CAMELCO must also come up with an enhanced Distribution Development Plan that incorporates system enhancements and capital expenditure requirements. She added that the goal of CAMELCO’S development plan should be to continuously provide secure, sufficient, reliable and See SUMMIT, page 11