Former vice president Jejomar “Jojo” Binay blasted concerned government agencies for their failure to plan ahead of the shortage in electricity supply which caused rotational brownouts.
On Tuesday (June 1), Meralco announced that there will be rotational brownouts for about two hours in the metropolis and nearby provinces due to insufficient supply of electricity.
“Alam naman na (They know that it is) peak capacity kapag (when it is) summer. But the concerned agencies chose to paint a rosy picture of our power supply situation instead of planning for a worst-case scenario, which is now happening,” he said in a statement.
The brownouts, according to Binay, will affect the productivity of workers especially now that many Filipinos work from home amid the pandemic
“It will also impact on small businesses who are already struggling to survive,” he added.
Binay hoped that the Department of Health (DOH) has prepared for the brownouts in spite of the earlier assurance from the Department of Energy (DOE) of a brownout-free vaccination rollout.
“They should always be prepared for emergencies. Sayang ang mga bakuna kung masisira dahil sa brownouts na pwede namang paghandaan (It will be such a waste if the vaccines will be destroyed due to brownouts),” said the former vice president.
Binay said the infuriating failure of the government to prepare for the brownouts did not come as a surprise to him.
“Sa simula pa lang ng pandemya, reactive at hindi proactive ang ibang government agencies. At parang wala tayo sa crisis situation kung gumalaw. Magtataka pa ba tayo na nangyayari ito (Even in the beginning of the pandemic, other government agencies were reactive and not proactive. They act as if like there is no pandemic. Should we even wonder why this is happening,” he said.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said that electric consumers in Luzon may expect rotational brownouts to be implemented until June 7.