Online classes? Remote villages have no electricity

Unreliable Internet connection isn’t the only challenge confronting the conduct of online classes under the “new normal.” The bigger obstacle is the lack of electricity in remote villages in the country, according to Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) Party-list Rep. Presley de Jesus.

“Electrification or electricity is no longer a privilege. It’s a right especially now [with the] pandemic,” he said.

“Kawawa ang mga estudyante at mga bata (I pity the young pupils). They can’t go to school. Why? They are afraid to [get] COVID. So what do they do in school? Ang gusto nila online (They want to do online classes).

“What happened to the sitios? Eh wala ngang kuryente, online pa iisipin niyo. So, kailangan talaga pailawan natin yan (How could they think of online classes if they don’t even have electricity. So we really need to give them electricity),” said De Jesus, vice chairman of the House Committee on Energy.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said in 2017 that some 23,464 sitios in the country have yet to get power through the Sitio Electrification Program (SEP). It said that the cost to electrify one sitio is more or less 11 million.

“We hope that by 2019 to 2022, we will be getting between 14.8 billion to 15.2 billion per annum so we will be able to energize all these sitios until 2022,” NEA chief and former party-list congressman Edgardo Masongsong said.

De Jesus said he would raise the matter to Energy Committee chairman, Marinduque lone district Rep. Lord Allan Velasco this week. “Kailangan pondohan na before the President’s term ends para lahat ng bahay sa kanayunan, magka-electricity na yan (This must be funded before the President’s term ends so that all homes in remote areas will be provided with electricity).”

AKO BISAYA Party-List Rep. Sonny Lagon related the ongoing power problem in Iloilo City. He said local folks have been enduring daily brownouts since March due to the legal conflict between current electricity franchise holder More Electric and Power Company’s (MORE) and previous holder Panay Electric Company (PECO).

Lagon said he has filed House Resolution (HR) No. 785 urging the Velasco panel to investigate the matter in aid of legislation so as “to ensure that power distribution will not cease and that the people of Iloilo will not be affected.”

“Ang concern ko lang talaga is yung mga consumers ng Iloilo, na sana hindi sila ma apektuhan, lalo na ngayong pandemic (My concern really is the Iloilo consumers, I hope they don’t get affected by this especially with the current pandemic),” he said.