Return of cut from NEA budget pushed

TUNGA, Leyte – Slashing R635 million from the budget for the National Electrification Administration (NEA) for next year will hamper the electrification of sitios, an electric cooperative general manager based here said.

Allan L. Laniba, general manager of Leyte III Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Leyeco III) told reporters during the cooperative’s annual general membership assembly last Saturday it may not be able to hit its target to energize the 73 sitios because of the budget cut.

Laniba said he is appealing to Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, to restore the P635 million cut by the Department of Energy (DOE).

Addressing the 9,000 electric consumers who attended the cooperative’s membership meeting, Nograles said he will do all his best to restore the budget cut.

Interviewed by reporters after his speech, he said the budget for the sitio electrification program should have been R1.8 billion. “Pero dito sa 2019 ang nangyari naging R1.1 billion na lamang. So ang importante dito is mahanapan natin ng paraan kung papapano irestore yon,” Nograles said

Nograles had said that based on NEA estimates, an average of R1.4 million is needed to energize a sitio.

This means that the R635 million NEA budget can light up 453 sitios.