BACOLOD City — The House of Representatives is conducting a two-day legislative consultation and public hearing in Negros Occidental on October 2 and 3, bringing congressional discussions closer to communities while addressing continuing power supply problems affecting the Visayas Grid.
The House’s LegisHear program is being held in Victorias City on October 2 and 3, marking its first stop in Negros Occidental following its launch in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.
Hosted by the province’s Third Congressional District, the program will give constituents an opportunity to raise community concerns and discuss proposed legislative measures with lawmakers.
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III and Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez are expected to attend the activities.
Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Javier Miguel L. Benitez said the consultations would allow residents to directly present their concerns and provide inputs that could help shape legislation.
A town hall meeting at the Victorias City Coliseum will tackle issues affecting the district, including the sugar industry, employment, health, and education.
Focus group discussions will also be conducted, while national government agencies will provide services and assistance to constituents at Victorias National High School. The government services will be open to the public on the second day.
Meanwhile, the House will hold a separate public hearing in Bacolod City on October 3 to investigate the continuing power outages affecting the Visayas Grid and examine measures to improve the stability and reliability of electricity supply in the region.
The hearing will be conducted jointly by the House Committees on Energy, Visayas Development, and Legislative Franchises from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at La Proa 2, L’Fisher Hotel.
Among the measures to be taken up is House Resolution No. 1429, authored by Deputy Speaker Alfredo “Albee” B. Benitez, which calls for an inquiry into the continuing and worsening power outages in the Visayas Grid.
The resolution seeks to determine the causes of the recurring outages and examine measures to ensure a stable, adequate, and reliable power supply in the region.
The inquiry will also cover concerns involving manual load dropping, recurring red and yellow alerts, unavailable and derated power plant capacity, and the cost and reliability of electricity services in the Visayas.
The Bacolod hearing is expected to bring lawmakers, energy stakeholders, and other concerned parties together to examine the power situation on the ground and discuss measures that could address recurring supply disruptions.
The two activities form part of the House’s nationwide legislative consultation and oversight initiative aimed at gathering inputs from communities and examining issues that may require legislative and government action./PN
