Consumers protest Paleco’s services
CONSUMER groups who said they were inconvenienced by the poor services of the Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco) have appealed to the Senate to address the persistent power outages in Palawan.
Tony Cabrestante, one of the leaders of business groups in the province, lamented that despite the booming tourism industry in Palawan, the province would lose its popularity to tourists if the power situation is not resolved.
“Palawan is known for being one of the most favorite tourist destinations in the country, but I fear that we will be left behind by the other provinces if the power interruptions here continue,” Cabrestante said.
He said several consumers and individuals reported that different parts of Palawan continue to experience unannounced power interruptions lasting for one hour three times a day, on top of the announced daily power interruptions that last for hours.
“If the power situation here continues to be the same, why will tourists bother coming here if electricity is an issue? Even if the places are beautiful, if they always have power interruptions, most of them will definitely not return,” said Cabrestante.
He said that El Nido, a popular tourist destination in Palawan, established a new record after it welcomed 500,408 visitors in 2023, but this accomplishment could go down the drain if power interruptions persist.
“We are again calling on Sen. Raffy Tulfo to help investigate the power situation in Palawan so this problem can be solved once and for all,” Cabrestante said.
Besides the local groups, the province’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan also recently aired its dismay over the frequent power outages that affected not only the residents’ way of life but also income opportunities for businesses as well.
In another development, Sen. Maria Lourdes “Nancy” Binay, chairman of the Senate Committee on Tourism, called on the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the
Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority to come up with short-term solutions “as far as corrective actions to arrest future prolonged brownouts in tourism destinations.”
She also enjoined the DoT to draft a template for a contingency or continuity plan since most establishments do not have adequate plans to deal with energy- or communications-related failures.
The El Nido Chamber of Commerce and Industry has brought Paleco’s poor service to the attention of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., hoping that concerned national agencies would help address the energy situation in Palawan.