News Release
May 26, 2014
Davao City –
Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN-SMR) today staged a protest in
front of the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) office in Bajada to condemn
the power rate hike and call for the nationalization of power industry against
privatization under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) of the Aquino
government.
“The power crisis is nothing but
orchestrated to justify the total privatization of power industry and allow
power trippers such as Aboitiz, Cojuangco, Sy, and Lopez to fully control and
deregulate the generation, transmission, distribution, and all aspects of the
power industry to extract super profit. This energy oligopoly gained the
support of the Aquino Regime under the auspices of neo-liberal policy of US
imperialism,” said BAYAN Southern Mindanao Region’s Secretary-General Sheena
Duazo.
Just
this month, residents of Davao City are surprised to find their monthly power
bill increase instead of going down with the long rotational brownouts, to
which DLPC explained earlier this month in their press release that there will
be an estimated increase of .45 centavos per kilowatt hour on generation charge
for the month of May since this month has the longest power interruption and
the DLPC took their supply from the fuel-fired power plant which is expensive
compared to hydroelectric power.
BAYAN said that the privatization of
our basic industries such as electricity will definitely result to the increase
of our electricity bills since the utmost interest of the private companies
like Aboitiz’s DLPC is to gain larger profit in the guise of service to the
public.
“Electricity is supposed to be a
social service where the government should make it accessible for the people,
but with the privatization of such vital industry we are given by the
government with two choices: suffer from rotational brownouts or pay higher
electricity rates,” Duazo said.
“We will not buy the artificial and
deceptive power crisis orchestrated by the power oligopoly in connivance with
the Aquino government. We demand an independent power audit, stop privatization
of all energy resources, rehabilitate Agus-Pulangi Hydropower Plants Complex
(APHPC), junk EPIRA, nationalize power industry and push for renewable energy
resources to ensure long term supply of clean and affordable energy,” she
added.
BAYAN called on consumers to be
vigilant and act together against corporate greed and government’s inutility that
deprived Dabawenyos and the rest of the Filipino people the basic social
services that we all deserve.
CONTACT:
Sheena Duazo (09473441625)
