Bacolod City – The secretary general of Power Watch Negros is alarmed by the “deafening silence” of local elected officials in franchise areas covered by Ceneco despite the unprecedented financial injuries brought about by the unreasonable and excessive electric rates it has imposed, that keeps on increasing every month, a press statement from Power Watch said.
Wennie Sancho said it is incumbent upon all elected officials to look into the welfare of their constituents. These officials are considered servants of the people and as such, they are enjoined to look into the welfare and interests of the people.
“But in the midst of a raging public outcry against the escalation of prices in the price of electricity of Ceneco, we have not seen or heard any local official from a city or municipality, whether mayor, vice mayor, councilors or even congressmen, publicly criticizing the power utility firm for this added form of injustice to the consumers imposed by this distribution utility (DU) nor was there any in depth investigation conducted to determine the root cause of this unprecedented financial injury inflicted by Ceneco,” he said.
As public servants they must act accordingly to give justice to the clamor of the consumers. Unfortunately, only Power Watch and Amlig Kuriente have been on the forefront of this struggle, Sancho said.
The need for affordable, reliable, and efficient power supply is essential to the welfare of the people. It is a necessary basic service and Ceneco is an institution imbued with public interest, he said.
“It is the duty of our local officials to ensure that Ceneco is accountable to the people. There is silence among our local officials on this crucial issue. Power Watch is posing a challenge to our local leaders in Bacolod City to say their piece,” he added. (Power Watch statement, photo courtesy of The Visayan Daily Star)