This came after the granting of the congressional franchise to the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), thereby expanding its operation to six towns and two cities in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro provinces under Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO) formerly the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco).
“We maintain the importance of keeping public utilities owned not by a few people, not by a few oligarchs, but by the people themselves,” NCECCO Secretary General Edgardo Rama Masongsong said in a statement.
“Because for more than 50 years, we relied on electric cooperatives as they risk their lives to energize the countryside, especially the far-flung areas which big, for- profit corporations neglected because there is no potential of profit,” he said.
Masongsong emphasized that electric cooperatives do not intend to profit or be rewarded for their sacrifices and should allow them to continue being the government’s partner for electrification.
This is not only going to be beneficial to the member-consumer-owners or the public, more importantly, this is the right thing to do, he further said.
NORDECO Area Manager Demetrio Jagunos, meanwhile, said that expanding the franchise of Davao Light and Power Company will only create chaos and injustice to their member-consumer-owners.
“We have presented our arguments and premises, we warned our legislators on the possible unintended consequences and repercussions of expanding the franchise of Davao Light and Power Company, but our arguments were ignored,” Jagunos said.
“They simply insisted that the LGU officials of the franchise areas being considered have already spoken – which does not matter as far as we are aware because as a cooperative, the voice that we should listen to are those of the member-owner-consumers, not of the politicians,” Jagunos added.
NORDECO denounced the “railroading of DLPC franchise expansion” after the House committee on legislative franchise approved on Dec. 1 without considering an in-depth deliberation of the then HB 09978, which was renamed HB 10554.
Jagunos expressed his disappointment that the bill was approved a first and last deliberation at the Committee level and without the official position papers of the Department of Energy and National Electrification Administration.
“The bill has been railroaded,” he said.
“NORDECO IS NOT FOR SALE. THE OLIGARCHS SHOULD NOT
BENEFIT FROM THE GAINS OF RURAL ELECTRIFICATION PROGRAM
AT THE EXPENSE OF THE GOVERNMENT, MCOs, OFFICERS, AND
EMPLOYEES. WE CONDEMN THE ACTS OF OUR POLITICAL LEADERS
OF RECALLING THE FRANCHISE OF DANECO/NORDECO
AND CAMPAIGNING FOR ITS TAKE-OVER BY OLIGARCHS,” Jagunos said.
He said NORDECO remains a strong partner of the government and the member- consumer-owners and deliver what is expected from a service-oriented and and non-profit electric cooperative.
Photo: NORDECO