Palace: Mindanao power summit ‘no farce’

Malacañang said on Tuesday the scheduled energy summit in Mindanao would not be a “farce,” as claimed by some critics, since a “consensus” is expected to be reached on how the power problem in the region would be solved.

“[The goal of the summit is] to form a consensus. By consensus, you will [hear] the people of Mindanao raising their concerns. You’ll have all the stakeholders raising their concerns and you’ve got the government also speaking up. There are proposed solutions. It’s up to the people of Mindanao to agree on what solution there will be,” said Malacañang Spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

He made the statement in a news briefing when asked about the claim of Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna party-list that one solution to be presented at the summit in the form of higher power rates is already a done deal and would be forced on Mindanao residents.

He added that the stakeholders in the region include power generators, transmission distributors, electric cooperatives, consumers and local governments.

Lacierda said the goal is to get “everybody…on the same page when it comes to addressing the [issue] of energy in Mindanao.”

He added that the summit, to be held on April 13 in Davao City, is being organized by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) with the help of the Department of Energy.

“They have to come up with concrete solutions because this is precisely to address the energy situation in Mindanao. And it will be up to the peoples of Mindanao to come up and agree to that consensus,” Lacierda said. –Mia M. Gonzalez / Reporter, Businesssmirror