DR. JULIUS Drilon, head of Bacolod City’s Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, reports that the reproductive number (R) which indicates the extent of an infectious disease in an area is 0.751 and 0.891 for COVID-19 in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, respectively.
If R is greater than 1, this means that we are losing the battle against the disease, whereas since R is less than 1, it means that we are gaining ground, albeit slowly.
There is no room for complacency and I agree with Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson that we should not let our guard down.
I hope that local mayors and governors, as democratically elected local representatives, will have the authority to implement COVID-19 preventive measures as they see fit. It would be a mistaken national policy if it were to direct people, currently in the National Capital Region back to the provinces if this were to mean that the virus would become more prevalent there.
On the other hand, I disagree with a proposed policy that would cancel education for the scholastic year 2020-2021. This would mean that students would lose a year for no benefit. The problem is compounded by an education policy which already forces students to attend school for 13 years before they become eligible for tertiary education. If Congress would pass legislation which would allow students to attend tertiary education if they pass relevant entrance examinations, then this would be helpful.
Some private schools are implementing completely on-line education where all contact between students and teachers is electronic. Many, but not all, public school students have appropriate electronic devices. When considering the way forward, the Department of Education should attempt to quantify the investment required to facilitate online learning for all.
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The provision of electricity is extremely costly. There are, however, bright spots. The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (Noceco) has reduced its rates this month and now charges P8.5426 per kilowatt hour (kWh), a decrease of P0.5139 per kWh from P9.0565 per kWh in April.
Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) remains anomalous. My last electricity bill from Ceneco charges P11.11 per kWh which is P2.57 per kWh more than Noceco. This is unconscionable and can only be explained by Ceneco’s past propensity to sign contracts with suppliers which are against the interest of Ceneco’s consumers.
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Agnes VST Devandera has, in the past, said that she would examine bilateral contracts to see whether the charges are fair.
We have an example where customers are unfairly treated so I hope ERC will address the issue which should result in the renegotiation of lopsided contracts.
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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi/PN
