Mindanao Daily NEWS
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Volume II, No. 253
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Tuesday
See story P15.00 on Page 12 May 13, 2014
ERC to discuss key issues on power industry today By Mike Baños Editor-at-large
Regional Top Stories
THE Energy Regulatory Commission is bringing government closer to the people in a series of focus group discussions to discuss two key issues which affect the power industry on May 13-14, 2014 at the Grand Caprice Restaurant and Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro City.
caraga
Police exec, driver gunned down in Agusan Sur road rage u4 westmin
See FULL STORY, page 2
More improvements line up for Sulu port u8
Miriam seeks Luy list of pork 200 SENATOR Miriam Defensor Santiago, member of the Senate blue ribbon committee, sent a letter to committee chair Teofisto Guingona III, recommending that the committee should hold a public hearing to request whistleblower Benhur Luy to testify on his own list, said to include 200 people, who allegedly received kickbacks from Janet Napoles, alleged mastermind of the P10 billion pork barrel scam. Santiago said that only the Luy list would be “definitive and substantiated,” as compared to what she called “spurious documents inadmissible in evidence” claimed by Napoles, Panfilo Lacson, and Sandra Cam. “Last Monday (May 12), President Aquino was reported as saying in Naypyitaw, Burma, that he has been shown two lists, both from Napoles, and another list from Lacson. The President reportedly said that each list refers to the other. The President reportedly expressed the suspicion that certain quarters are ‘trying to crowd the issue. This supports my humble claim for the Luy list,” she said. Luy’s parents allegedly went to a national newspaper (Inquirer) last year See seeks, page 11
DAVAO
COMMITTEE HEARING. Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, gives her
opening statement during a public hearing investigating a new strain of coconut scale insect and coconut leaf beetle which has been infesting coconut trees in Region IV-A (Calabarzon). Citing the important role of scientists in improving the country’s agricultural productivity, Villar challenged those in the agricultural industry to come up with a solution to the worsening infestation of scale insects, which, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority, has already wiped out 54,000 coconut trees in Batangas and Laguna and is creeping towards the coconut plantations in Quezon Province. Also in photo is Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto. Photo courtesy of Cesar Tomambo
Lawmaker wants probe on sale of power barges By Froilan Gallardo of MindaNews
CAGAYAN de Oro City––The militant party list Bayan Muna has called for a thorough investigation on the alleged anomalous sale of two government power barges in 2010 to Therma Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation. Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the transaction done by public bidding led to a “huge financial loss” for the stateowned National Power Corporation (Napocor). But Zarate stressed that consumers in Mindanao ultimately became “the biggest loser” because the 200 megawatts of electricity that the barges could produce were no longer avail-
able to the Mindanao grid. “Aboitiz used the power from the barges to sell electricity directly to the electric cooperatives whereas before, government was selling it at cheaper rates,” he said. Bayan’s accusation came as Mindanao cities reel from six to 10-hour daily brownouts as supply from the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric power plants, the island’s major source of electricity, dwindled with Lake Lanao and Pulangui’s waters already at critical levels. As of 6 a.m. Sunday, May 11, Mindanao’s power situation outlook was 938 MW system capacity for a system demand of 1,132MW or a deficit of 194. On May 7, when power outages in the cities of Davao and Cagayan
New hydropower plants operating in summer u 9
Rape suspect nabbed By SONNY SUDARIA Mindanao Daily News-Armm
ILIGAN City––Armed with an arrest warrant, a team of policemen belonging to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for Iligan City and Lanao del Norte arrested a 27-yearold man in purok 10 in Barangay Elena recently. Team leader Chief Insp. Napolcom C. Carpio, also the head of CIDG-Iligan and Lanao Norte, said Jason Cañete Canoy is now languishing in jail after he was arrested on May 1 on alleged rape charges. Regional Trial Court (RTC) Presiding Judge Ma-
de Oro reached 7.5 hours, the deficit was 389MW. By May 8 it went down to 354 MW, on May 9 it was 277 and by May 10 was at 208. Since Unit 2 turbine of STEAG State Power’s coal-fired power plant went online evening of May 7, and the Western Mindanao diesel power plant’s 100-MW which underwent maintenance also went online, rotating brownouts have become shorter – an hour in Cagyaan de Oro and none in Davao City since May 9. Direct sale Wilfredo Rodolfo III, Aboitiz communication officer, declined to comment on Bayan Muna’s allegation mindiara P. Mangontara but confirmed that their company sells the electricity produced by the of Iligan City set the bailbond for Canoy’s case at two barges directly to Mindanao’s See probe, page 11
P120,000.
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