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| Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. tells the people of the province that though they are guardians of Lake Lanao, they have the responsibility to pay for their electricity consumption. (Jason C. Casas/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur) |
MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--The governor of Lanao del Sur has joined the call for consumers of the debt-ridden Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (LASURECO) to religiously pay their electric bills.
This, after the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) demanded that LASURECO settle its unpaid bills which now amounted to P13 billion, or be cut off from the power grid.
Governor Mamintal "Bombit" Adiong Jr. said that while Meranaws have the right to Lake Lanao being its owners, it was the national government that established the power plants that could source the power for them.
“Hindi natin kaya iyan kaya obligasyon natin ang magbayad. Tayo ang pinakamaliit magbayad sa buong Pilipinas kaya sana, magtulungan tayo para maayos ang kuryente natin,” he said during the Provincial Energy Summit Tuesday, July 19.
[We can't afford that so we have an obligation to pay. We are the lowest payers in the whole Philippines so hopefully, let's work together to fix our electricity.]
The governor said the Meranaws, being the guardians of the “ranaw” or Lake Lanao, have the responsibility to preserve the lake which provides electricity and livelihood not only to the province but to the whole of Mindanao. "Protektahan natin ito at siguraduhin natin hindi mawawala, [let’s protect it and make sure it doesn’t get lost]," he further said.
The provincial government has been closely coordinating with PSALM, local government units, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to come up with a permanent solution to the power crisis in the province.
The Energy Summit is one of the initiatives undertaken by the provincial government to seek recommendations from the electric co-op's stakeholders and consumers on the ways forward to address the problem.
Underscoring the resiliency of Meranaws, Adiong expressed optimism that the province would be able to surpass the energy problem once all the stakeholders do their share in helping LASURECO. (APB/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)
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