Davao Del Norte Gov. Edwin Jubahib warned of an economic crisis in the province if the power woes caused by the inefficiencies of Northern Davao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NORDECO) are not resolved immediately.
“It will cause the collapse of our provincial economy because we know that electricity is a basic utility. Our businessmen and residents need this,” the governor said in Filipino in a radio interview.
“Businessmen are already leaving us. Businesses will close down, they are moving to other provinces that have ample supply of electricity — which is what I feared. Where will my constituents find work, where will we get an income? This will be tragic for Davao del Norte,” he added.
The Governor also debunked NORDECO’s claim that the rotational brownouts have already been resolved, saying the power outages still last for more than six hours in various parts of the province.
Noting that they still suffer from daily brownouts, Jubahib said residents and businessmen in Davao Del Norte who are fed up with the power outages held various protests to condemn NORDECO’s poor service.
Even residents and businesses in the Island Garden City of Samal have protested the prolonged brownouts under the cooperative’s service area, he pointed out.
The governor also revealed that the provincial government, local government units (LGUs), and congressional offices have provided NORDECO with subsidies to resolve the power issues, but to no avail.
Jubahib called on the power regulatory bodies, the House of Representatives, and the Senate to help put an end to Davao del Norte’s power crisis.