Veco: No power interruptions today

CEBU, Philippines - Due to the rotating brownouts that continue to hit Cebu, many boxing fans are worried that they would miss the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight today.

But the Visayan Electric Company Inc. assured yesterday that there will be no power interruptions during the much awaited boxing event of the year.

VECO spokesperson Ethel Natera said the usual power demand for Sundays is always low and they don’t expect power supply shortage.

“We don’t expect power supply shortage, unless an emergency of great magnitude happens, which we don’t have control of,” Natera in her text message to The FREEMAN. The power utility also does not have a scheduled maintenance work during Pacquiao fight.

Some hotels, malls, high-end restaurants will reportedly be having a special showing of the much-awaited Pacquaio-Cotto fight as a way of enticing customers. Most of them also have their own generator sets on standby so in case of power interruption, the customers’ level of excitement while watching the fight won’t also be interrupted.

The SPC Power Corporation in Naga, which supplies power to the National Power Corporation, announced that Cebu will continue to experience sporadic brownouts until next year owing to the deficiency of power supply in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid.

VECO, over the weekend has to resort to rotation brownouts wherein several areas were affected especially in the cities of Mandaue, Talisay and Cebu and the towns of Minglanilla and Naga

Meanwhile, police are not excluded to watch the boxing fight but definitely not without securing first their areas of responsibilities.

Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, director of Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), foresees a peaceful and orderly situation today as what they usually observe during the previous fights of Pacquiao. However, he pointed out that this should not be a reason for them to be complacent.

“We know beforehand na whenever naa’y laban si Pacquiao, it tells us na mingaw kay pati mga criminal mutan-aw man sa iyang laban. Nevertheless, we will deploy policemen,” Comendador said.

Both beat and mobile patrols, Comendador said, will be deployed in crowded areas especially near main roads and highways. Policemen will also be deployed in areas where there are pay-per-view systems particularly in Cebu Coliseum to avoid possible trouble among the viewers. There will also be checkpoints in the different streets in the city.

“We don’t want criminals to take advantage of the opportunity. Our on-duty policemen will be in the streets to perform their duty,” he added.

The whole Cebu province will also be guarded today as Cebu Provincial Police Office director Jesus Gaquing ordered his men to stay on alert and vigilant during the fight.

Gaquing ordered all chiefs of police in the province and component cities to respond, as usual, to any alarm that may happen today in their respective jurisdictions and are also required to submit situation reports.

“It is expected na minos ang crimes karon, but there might be enterprising individuals na mo-pull out og krimen so I ordered my men to be always vigilant,” he said.— with Niña G. Sumacot and Gabriel C. Bonjoc/WAB   (FREEMAN NEWS)