Duterte, Cayetano vow to quickly address power crisis in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines - The tandem of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has vowed to quickly solve the power crisis in Mindanao if elected to office.

Cayetano said Mindanao has been placed under a “yellow alert” status following the series of bombings that toppled power transmission towers and cut-off electricity generated by the Agus 1 and 2 hydroelectric plants to the Mindanao grid.

And yet, Cayetano said, the Department of Energy (DOE) has not acted decisively on the matter.

"The power crisis in Cagayan de Oro remains one of the province's problems. In fact, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed Mindanao under “yellow alert” status after a series of bombings toppled transmission towers cutting off electricity generated from the Agus 1 and 2 hydro plants from the Mindanao grid," Cayetano told the business community of Cagayan de Oro recently.

"Yet, why is the DoE not acting decisively on the bombings of transmission towers despite the NGCP's warning that the Mindanao grid could collapse if bombing incidents continue? Clearly, what is needed is political will to protect our public utility facilities. This is what Mayor Duterte and I will bring to solve this pestering issue," Cayetano added.

Cayetano also said a plan to transfer national departments to the regions would also happen under a Dueterte administration with the Department of Energy (DoE) being transferred to Mindanao in order for the government to act decisively on the power crisis plaguing the region.

Meanwhile, Cayetano said under a Duterte presidency, the Mindanao Railway System would be completed to make it easier to transfer food commodities from agricultural areas to places like Cagayan de Oro.

The senator argued that if the national government can fund the construction of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) in Metro Manila, which costs P50-billion worth of the public’s money, it can also do the same for Mindanao's long cherised dream of a railway system.

"Sa pamamagitan ng plataporma naming ito ni Mayor Duterte, haharapin natin ang hamon ng pagbabago, at sisiguruhin na ang bawat mamamayan ay makikinabang gobyernong may matapang na solusyon at mabilis na aksyon,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano and Duterte are now going around the country on a "Hamon ng Pagbabago" tour covering major cities, provinces, and different sectors in the country.

“Hamon sa Pagbabago” is in the form of town hall meetings where the tandem presents their platform, which includes phasing out contractualization, doubling the salaries of public school teachers, expanding scholarship grants and providing a living wage to workers.