DOES Panay Electric Co. (PECO) no longer have enough maintenance crew to keep its power lines free from fire?
For the first time within 24 hours, between Oct. 19 and 20, four fires razed four different areas – one in Molo, two in Jaro and one in the City Proper.
Fortunately, the alert firefighters of the Iloilo Bureau of Fire Protection responded in time to extinguish the fires. Otherwise, the offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Telecom in Tabuc Suba and Quintin Salas, respectively, could have burned down.
It must have been poetic justice that all four fires destroyed PECO facilities, such as power lines, wooden posts and overloaded transformers.
This corner has repeatedly alerted PECO about overloaded transformers, dangling “spaghetti wires” and hazardous “jumpers” that have many times caused fatal fires. Unfortunately, our warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
What keeps PECO lax in maintenance work? Is it true many of its maintenance crew have quit for whatever unrevealed reasons?
Having lost its franchise and operating on a temporary certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission, PECO is not expected to improve its services. It has no more “incentive” to improve.
By virtue of Republic Act 11212 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 14, 2019, MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) should have already taken over the power-distribution system but held to a standstill in the absence of a writ of possession that would allow it to expropriate the power-distribution system.
Until a few days ago, we were expecting Judge Daniel Antonio Gerardo Amular of the Regional Trial Court Branch 35 to issue that writ.
But as a recent Lapsus Calami column item revealed, MORE Power’s Atty. Hector Teodosio had filed a motion for inhibition against him on the notion that he “has acted, uttered remarks and presided the instant case showing bias and partiality against plaintiff MORE, and in favor of defendant PECO, and has acted not in accord with the code of judicial conduct promulgated by the Supreme Court.”
The judge had allegedly tried to mediate between the litigants in his chamber in the lawyers’ absence, thus violating Rule 3.12 of the Code of Judicial Conduct: “A judge should take no part in a proceeding where the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”
The impending change of court venue and proceedings thereat could take additional time.
This corner could only hope that additional time would be short. I join the thousands of other Ilonggos in praying for an end to the legal deadlock that could have been avoided had PECO opted for a smooth transition of franchise, yielding to MORE Power instead of contesting the constitutionality of the law.
What if fires more extensive than the aforesaid “four-in-a-day” would render the city unable to “level up” in accordance with Mayor Jerry Treñas’ campaign promise?
While the mayor has made it clear that he would try to reconcile PECO and MORE Power officials once the RTC would have enforced the writ of possession, further delay could force the city to “level down”. Imagine the stagnant power system unable to sustain the accelerating power requirements of expanding business enterprises.
Imagine also the smooth transition that could have resulted from the unimpeded implementation of RA 11212, notably Section 10 on expropriation: “The grantee may acquire such private property as is actually necessary…Provided, that proper expropriation proceedings shall have been instituted and just compensation paid.”
MORE Power is prepared to pay that “just compensation”. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
