To mitigate power crisis: Celso, CDCC ok calamity fund for gen sets, cloud seeding
The City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) led by Mayor Celso Lobregat has approved the use of the city’s calamity funds to mitigate the power crisis through the purchase of generating sets for vital institutions and to extend cloud seeding operations to help boost rainfall.
This, based on Malacanang’s executive order declaring a state of calamity in Mindanao to help solve the worsening power situation. The declaration allows the national and local governments to access calamity funds and quickly procure generators to ease the power shortage.
Mayor Lobregat Friday afternoon convened the CDCC to tackle solutions based on the Malacanang declaration. The Council approved 8 resolutions aimed to relieve Zamboanguenos from the effects of the power crisis.
Aside from allowing the use of the city’s calamity funds, the CDCC also resolved to support and encourage the entry of private investors to install generators for additional power capacity, negotiations of which to be undertaken by the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative.
To help boost rainfall, the CDCC approved to appropriate P2.7 million out of the calamity funds for a 30-day extension of the cloud seeding operations being undertaken at present by the Department of Agriculture.
Numerous cloud seeding sorties have been conducted by the DA, through Lobregat’s request, since March 7and rains fell in the far flung barangays such as Bungiao, Tolosa, Latap, La Paz and Vitali areas.
The CDCC believed that extending the cloud seeding operations would help induce rain and eventually help improve water levels in reservoirs and help farmers.
Other equally important measures approved by the Lobregat-led CDCC were the purchase of a 24 horse power generator set for the City Reformatory Center; purchase of a 12 KVA generator set for the City Fire Station; purchase of 10 units of 5.5 KVA generator sets for Vitali Lying in Clinic, Ayala Lying in Clinic, City agriculturist Office, Division of City Schools, General Services Office and other important agencies and the request for Zamcelco together with the City Engineer’s Office, General Services Office and the Commission on Audit to determine the generator set capacity needed in the Pettit Barracks area to ensure continuous power supply to the offices under City Health, City Social Welfare, Housing and Land Management Division, Civil Registrar and part of the City Treasurer’s office.
Zamcelco together with the CEO, GSO and COA are also tasked to make a study and determine the generator capacity needed for the City Police office and the Task Force Zamboanga command.
Emergency lights will also be purchased for the use of police and Task Force zamboanga personnel.
In an interview, Mayor Lobregat said the calamity funds of the city and other local government units comprise 5 percent of the total budget. The city’s calamity fund could reach about P70 million this year.
“But it is not that we are going to use the entire calamity fund. It has to be specific and related to the calamity, we cannot purchase something that is not related to disaster preparedness”, the mayor explained to media men covering City Hall.
It is recalled that Mayor Lobregat during the Mindanao Power Stakeholders’ Meeting presided by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes at the Garden Orchid Hotel last February 17 floated the idea about the president’s emergency powers as provided for in Section 71 of the EPIRA law.
The law grants the president emergency powers in cases of worsening power situation but this particular provision requires a joint resolution from Congress. Without the session in the House of Congress, the option done was the declaration of a state of calamity in Mindanao which does not require a congressional approval. (Sheila Covarrubias)