Bacolod City – Leaders of consumers’ groups in Negros have agreed to issue a “Declaration of Secession from National Electrification Administration (NEA) Supervision and for Ceneco to register with the Cooperative Development (CDA).”
Power Watch Negros Advocates secretary general Wennie Sancho said they have agreed during a meeting over-the-weekend to publish and have the declaration circulated in the franchise areas of Ceneco.
He said the consumers have the right to decide to be a free and independent electric cooperative by having Ceneco registered with the CDA.
Sancho said this declaration will awaken the consumers from their apathy and break Ceneco’s affiliation with NEA.
This will also restore the free right of the consumers to their unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion which had been suppressed for a long time due to the misrepresentation of the Board of Directors (BOD) in a pseudo cooperative like Ceneco, he said.
The voice of the consumers will finally find utterance by way of this declaration as an authentic cooperative under CDA registration, he added.
“We have the right to alter or change the form of an electric cooperative that will seem more likely to protect our rights and advance our welfare as consumers. This declaration is a necessity in the midst of the economic difficulties we are facing that was exacerbated by the excessive rate of electricity imposed by Ceneco causing us unprecedented financial injuries,” Sancho said.
Majority of the consumers are howling and cursing Ceneco for economic strangulation but the members of the Board appear to be unaffected, he said.
“Instead of providing light and hope, Ceneco had given us darkness and despair, the uncertainty of our economic survival. This dismal failure of Ceneco to provide us affordable power supply was tolerated by NEA. Hence, the call to secede from NEA,” Sancho added. (Chrysee Semillano via tvds photo by tvds)