Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez proposed an additional budget of P10 billion for the rural electrification program of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) for 2025.
“Let us give this program more funds so that the vision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of 100-percent electrification by the end of his six-year term in 2028 could be realized. Congress should help him attain that target,” Rodriguez said.
He said the NEA is allocated only P2.6 billion in the proposed national budget for next year, which is about 11 percent of the agency’s funding proposal of P23.7 billion. “Let us give it even just half of what it is seeking,” he said.
Rodriguez stressed that without additional rural electrification funds, many communities in the country “will remain in total darkness.”
“Our island, Mindanao, has the highest rate of non-sitio electrification in the country,” he added.
He pointed out that without electricity, communities would not be able to realize economic progress.
“Like roads, electricity is an important factor in developing the countrywide, especially remote barangays,” he said.
The Mindanao lawmaker noted that in his 2023 State of the Nation Address, President Marcos Jr. promised to energize the entire country by the end of his term.
However, during congressional budget hearings, NEA officials have repeatedly warned lawmakers that the agency would not be able to meet the President’s target because of the measly funding it has been getting from Congress.
The officials said the timeline for 100-percent total electrification by 2028 is delayed by two years to three years due to inadequate budget.
Rodriguez said it is not too late for Congress to help President Marcos Jr. achieve his energization goal.
“I am urging the Senate to augment the NEA budget for next year. In case it fails to do so, the House of Representatives could play catch-up by proposing the adjustment during the bicameral conference committee deliberations,” he said.
He said by providing electricity to remote communities, “we will be helping our rural people improve their lives.”
