Mabalacat mayor padlocks power coop; Kumander Bilog retaliates

MABALACAT, Pampanga — A power blackout hit the entire town starting at 10 a.m. yesterday after Mayor Marino Morales ordered the shutdown of the Pampanga Electric Cooperative 2 (Pelco 2) office here, trapping personnel, mostly women, in the building.

The conflict between the power firm and the municipal government stemmed from the latter’s non-payment of arrears now amounting to some P8 million.

In retaliation, former rebel chief Rodolfo Salas, head of the central management team (CMT) of Pelco, ordered the restoration of power in the whole town two hours later but ordered electricity disconnected at the municipal hall.

Salas, who used to be known as Kumander Bilog when he was still chief of the New People’s Army in the 1980’s, was reportedly appointed to the post by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) upon President Arroyo’s instructions.

"I had to order the destruction of the back door of the Pelco 2 building to free the trapped personnel," Salas said.

He said he was surprised by Morales’ move to suddenly padlock the Pelco 2 building here despite his earlier agreement with Morales over the payment of the municipality’s arrears since 1995.

When Salas assumed his post as chairman and chief executive officer of Pelco 2, he said he found out that the office had only some P5 million in cash and has arrears worth some P110 million from the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

Salas ordered intensified bill collections and was able to raise P46 million initially needed for immediate payment to Napocor. Still, he stood on his demand for the municipal government to pay its arrears and current bills.

Salas said that Morales’ order to shut down the Pelco 2 office yesterday was a violation of the agreement they signed last week.