The speedy restoration of the power supply in Eastern Visayas that were hit by Typhoon “Bising” drew praise from Majority Leader Martin Romualdez of the House of Representatives.
Romualdez, who represents Leyte’s first district, commended energy officials for a job well done.
The chairman of the House Committee on Rules said power supply was very important to run life-saving equipment in hospitals, ensure uninterrupted online education and keep people connected from their work and public services while observing stay-at-home policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He commended Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Agnes Devanadera and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines for responding immediately when he called their attention Sunday morning about the power disruption.
“I commend the swift action of ERC chairperson Devanadera and the NGCP in restoring power in the affected areas in Eastern Visayas. Many lives have been saved in the hospitals and helped lessen the burden of our medical frontliners by their prompt action,” Romualdez said after the power in Eastern Visayas resumed Monday.
“Bising” displaced thousands of residents when it blew fierce winds and dumped heavy rain in Eastern Visayas, resulting in power loss in Tacloban City, Babatngon and Palo in Leyte; Saint Bernard, Libagon, San Juan, Pintuyan, Silago, San Francisco, San Ricardo, Anahawan and Hinundayan in Southern Leyte; and the whole province of Eastern Samar.
“With their medical equipment relying on electricity, power interruption or even unstable power supply affects doctors and the first responders’ response in treating sick people,” Romualdez said.
“It has been a challenging year to the education sector. We do not want power outages to become an additional problem to our educators who have been commendably doing their part of ensuring that students are still attending their virtual classes,” Romualdez said.
He said employees under the work-from home scheme were also affected during brownouts.
To help win the war against COVID-19, Romualdez also cited the importance for officials to always ensure a reliable, steady and affordable energy to keep people at home.
