ZAMBOANGA CITY—Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday said they will push for bold solutions and swift action to address Zamboanga city’s power and water crises.
“Sobra na ang gulo at hirap ng tao sa Mindanao. Hindi na pwede ang pa-teka tekang responde ng gobyerno sa mga krisis na kanilang pinapasan,” Duterte said in a statement.
The two said that, if elected, they would push for the expansion and improvement of the government’s crop insurance programs to cover more beneficiaries. They also called for the establishment of an Emergency Response Department that would focus on disaster preparedness and response 24/7.
“Tama na ang pa-patse-patseng pagtugon ng gobyerno sa mga biktima ng kalamidad,” Duterte said, referring to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council that was widely criticized for its slow response when the country was hit by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013.
“What we need is a strong government department that will respond to the people’s immediate concerns in times of emergency and disaster,” Duterte said.
Cayetano stressed the need for risk management measures in agriculture and a comprehensive rehabilitation program that will sustain farmers’ livelihood for the duration of El Niño.
“Mayor Duterte and I will ensure that the farmers of Zamboanga will have alternative livelihood opportunities and more than enough capital to start and sustain their own small businesses, so in times of calamity they will have other sources of income,” Cayetano said.
On the city’s power outages lasting 2 to 9 hours a day, the duo said the impending El Niño might worsen the crisis.
This was on top of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines placing Mindanao under “yellow alert” after a series of bombings toppled transmission towers, cutting off the electricity generated from the Agus 1 and 2 hydroelectric plants from the Mindanao grid.
“What is needed is political will. If elected, we will immediately transfer the Department of Energy to Mindanao,” Duterte said.
“I believe a Mindanao-based DoE can help in protecting better our public utilities and respond effectively and comprehensively to the power crisis.”
