Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco put to task the
Department of Energy (DOE) and industry players to ensure that there will be
sufficient power supply not only during Election Day, but all throughout the
counting and transmission of votes so as not to cast doubts on the credibility
of the poll results.
Velasco, who chairs the Committee on Energy in the House of
Representatives, issued the statement in light of the power outages affecting
most parts of Metro Manila and some areas in Luzon, and the apparent lack of
assurance from the sector for ample power supply during the critical period of
the electoral exercise.
“What the public wants is a fair, clean and honest election.
If there will be power interruptions, I worry that it would compromise the results
and credibility of the election,” said the lawmaker from the lone district of
Marinduque. “Our energy officials and industry players must pull all strings to
allay fears and meet the public’s expectations.”
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) had
issued “red alert” warnings, meaning there is severe power deficiency, on the
Luzon grid after the simultaneous breakdown of five power plants. News reports
also quoted the head of the NGCP-Luzon System Operations that power outages
could linger until June because of thin power reserves.
While energy officials claim there will be sufficient and
efficient power supply come May 13, when the demand is low because it is a
holiday, Velasco said this early contingency plans must be put in place to deal
with power outages especially during the canvassing and transmission of votes.
“They better be ready. We cannot afford to endanger the
election processes and the results,” Velasco said.
