Solon defends energy chief but draws flak for noynoying

THE chairman of the House committee on energy on Sunday defended Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras from calls for his resignation over the growing power crisis in Mindanao.

The power shortage in Mindanao is a complex problem that requires technical solutions that requires time to implement,” said Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad.

She said Almendras and other officials of the Energy Department have worked hard to solve the crisis that has been festering for more than two years.

She added that the solution requires action from all stakeholders, not just the government.

“Secretary Almendras and the DOE are trying to manage a difficult situation,” she said.

But Abad’s defense drew flak from some members of the energy committee.

Abad’s panel was also criticized for sitting on urgent resolutions filed before it to solve the power crisis on the island.

House Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, a member of the panel, said Abad did not have a firm grasp on the country’s energy problems, which was “a great disservice” to the committee she chaired.

“She is not only ‘Noynoying’ on the resolutions aimed at solving the recurring power problem in Mindanao, but she is also ‘Noynoying’ on several bills and resolutions on oil,” Magsaysay said, using a newly coined term that ridicule’s the President for his perceived inaction.

Magsaysay also dismissed Abad’s explanation about the Mindanao power shortage as a mishmash of technical economic and financial “mumbo jumbo.”

Magsaysay said Almendras and Energy Department officials knew of the problem early on, and were aware that these shortages should be addressed with both short-term and long-term solutions.

She said the blackouts could have been averted in January if the power barges had been repaired and mobilized immediately, but this was not done.

“The problem has been there since 2010, they knew already about it.

What solutions did Almendras undertake to solve the crisis? Did they implement anything?” Magsaysay asked in response to Abad’s defense.

Magsaysay added that they expect Abad to act with dispatch on several resolutions filed in the House to address the power problem.

Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, who has filed one such resolution, lamented that the residents of Mindanao had to suffer crippling outages because the government did not recognize the problem and attend to it immediately.

He also said the delayed mobilization of diesel-fired power barges would make electricity even more expensive to the already suffering people of Mindanao.

“This adds insult to injury,” he said. Not only do the people have to put up with three- to six-hour outages that could stretch to eight to 12 hours at the height of summer, they must “pay through the nose” for their electricity at an estimated average of P14 per kilowatt-hour, he added. –Maricel Cruz, Manila Standard Today