Officials painting bad picture of Zambo dishearten Celso
Officials and candidates, particularly those from the opposition, seeking elective positions in the May 10 elections would always paint a negative picture of the city to discredit the present administration and to advance their interests.
Mayor Celso Lobregat said this, as he expressed dismay over the penchant of some officials and candidates to put the city into shame as well as destroy people’s confidence in the city just so they can build up bid for the coming elections.
“This is an election year and definitely local politicians will always have to hit the administration and claim that the administration has not done and is not doing anything for the betterment of the city because if my competitors will start saying the good things I have done then they have no reason to even run against the incumbent,” the mayor who is seeking re-election said.
He cited the case of the power crisis that has hit not only the city but entire Mindanao, the whole country and even other parts of the world. The same magnitude of politicking is applied to the city’s peace and order situation,
“It is very disheartening to say Zamboanga is being left behind because of the power crisis and the security situation. If you are an official of the city and if you want to be an official of the city, it is your responsibility to bring about the best, good, positive and the beautiful about Zamboanga,” Mayor Lobregat said in a press conference Friday together with former Sen. Franklin Drilon at the City Hall conference room.
In the case of the power crisis, Lobregat explained that the generating capacity of the different Mindanao power plants is about 2,000 megawatts, out of which 1,039 megawatts or over 50 percent comes from hydro plants which are dependent on the water level in Lake Lanao.
He said 614megawatts come from diesel plants located in Davao, General Santos, Cotabato and Zamboanga’s Western Mindanao Power Corporation plant in Sangali; the power generation is also contributed by the coal plant existing in Cagayan that produces 132 megawatt and the geothermal in Mt. Apo in Kidapawan which contributes 108 megawatts.
“When the water level of Lake Lanao reduces, you will have less and less power generated from hydro,” he said stressing “the estimated peak demand of power is 1,400 mw and now the reliable power is only 1,300 so right off you have a 100 megawatts less.”
And so, he said, as the water in Lake Lanao decreases then the energy crisis becomes more and more evident and that is why Zamboanga City and all other parts of Mindanao are having consistent brownouts.
“It is not because the city government has not planned anything for power, actually the EPIRA law prevents the government from power generation, so how can the government now say it wants to go into power generation,” he asked.
Nevertheless, he said, the city government even before the crisis hit the country has undertaken steps to anticipate any power shortage. The plans include long term, medium term and the short term plans.
As part of the immediate plan, he said, everybody has to find ways and means to manage and conserve energy. “Each one of us is an energy user so we have to find ways to conserve energy.”
One measure which the power stakeholders have agreed during a summit recently is to ask industries and commercial establishments with embedded generators, which are estimated to consume 10-12 megawatts of power, to get off the grid and power their own establishments in order to lessen the power demand, he said.
But there are things to be considered under this plan, as the consumers will have to agree to pay the price difference. This scheme is implemented in Cebu City and some other areas in the country, thus, the idea is being floated here.
As part of the medium and long term plans, the city government long before the crisis, has asked the Department of Energy to undertake a study on the wind and hydro generating capacities of the city. DOE people came but unfortunately the results showed that Zamboanga is not within the wind path and that the city’s rivers and waterfalls can only generate a maximum of 3-4 megawatts of power.
The expected power to be generated from hydro is very minimal as compared to the city’s consumption during peak hours which is 70-80 megawatts but still there are people interested to pursue this plan, he said.
At present, he stressed, there is the proposal from an investor to put up a coal-fired power plant in the city, a proposal that is under study by the local electric cooperative. The city, he emphasized, welcomes investors on power generation for as long as the proposals are environment friendly and offers affordable costs.
“They (opposition) claims no investors would like to come to Zamboanga because of the power situation and peace and order, if you are an official of the city, you are supposed to promote the city, do not put your city in a bad light, do not paint a negative picture of the city when it is not so”, Mayor Lobregat stressed.
In the case of the peace and order situation, he said, Zamboanga like any other city has its own share of peace and order problems.
“But the thing is you have to realize that there is no other city in the Philippines with the convergence of so many influences. We are perhaps the one of the only few cities with the multi-ethnic /multi-culture. Our location is such that we are more or less bordering the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-tawi”, he explained.
The city is also home to major military camps, he said, thus “when you start comparing Zamboanga with other cities and provinces, you have to take into consideration the realities on the ground”.
He said it is ironic that the opposition paint a bad picture of the city and yet residents from other areas and even Cabinet members appreciate and see the things that are being done in the city to improve the peace and order situation and improve the quality of life of the people.
Local Government Secretary Ronnie Puno said he appreciates everything that the city has done for public safety, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the city is doing unprecedented things for education and Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said very good things for the city in such that Zamboanga even saved the Republic from being blacklisted because the first 3 convictions of anti-trafficking law came from Zamboanga City, the mayor stressed.
“So I am proud to be the mayor of a city as dynamic as progressive and as peaceful as Zamboanga City,” Lobregat added. (Sheila Covarrubias)