NUEVA ECIJA — Presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo believes that electric cooperatives (ECs) will help address the problems faced by the power industry in terms of supply and high costs.
Having visited numerous provinces in the past month since the start of the campaign season on Feb. 8, the Vice President said she noticed the administrative problems within these organizations.
However, she thumbed down proposals to dissolve ECs because empowering consumers and the organizations that represent them is the key to good governance.
“Napakahalaga ng electric cooperatives dahil pagmamay-ari ito ng mga consumers at ‘yung lahat ko pong pinagdaanan, makikikita niyo na parati akong para sa empowerment, para sa empowerment ng ordinaryong mamamayan (Electric cooperatives are very important because these are owned by consumers and all that I’ve been through, you will see that I am for empowerment, for the empowerment of ordinary people),” Robredo said.
She delivered a message at the whistlestop with PHILRECA Partylist, which is comprised of some 121 ECs operating across the country, on Tuesday, March 22.
“Hindi po ako naniniwala na dapat pag hindi nagiging efficient ang isang bagay ay inaalisan ng kapangyarihan, inaalisan ng kapangyarihan ang mga kooperatiba, bagkus, kailangan tinutulungan dahil sino ba 'yung magmamahal sa ating mga ginagawa kundi tayo din makikinabang (I don’t believe that if something is not efficient, it should be stripped of its power, instead (it) should be helped because if we cherish them, we will all benefit),” she added.
Robredo is in Nueva Ecija, where she lost by more than 300,000 votes to her rival, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in 2016.
She promised the PHILRECA, which endorsed her presidential bid in February, that they will not only be consulted if she wins as president, but they will be a part of her policy-making process.
READ: Robredo gets support of electric cooperatives nationwide
The lone female presidential candidate for this year’s elections said the ECs can depend on her government to make their operations more efficient.
“’Yung parating binabato sa atin, sinasabi na pag negosyante ang maghahawak, mas efficient kesa electric cooperatives. Kaya dapat, ipakita natin sa kanila na kung ano ang kaya nila, kaya natin– mas hihigitan pa natin (That’s what they throw at us, when businessmen run them, the electric cooperatives are more efficient. That’s why let’s make them see that what they can do, we can do—we will surpass it),” she stressed.
Robredo then visited the Ako ang Saklay Center in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija to meet women mushroom farmers whose husbands lost their jobs due to the pandemic. This marked the second time that the Vice President visited the Ako ang Saklay Center since 2017.
She also made a stop in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, to meet with her volunteer-supporters. Accompanied by 4th District Rep. Maricel Nagaño and Mayor Elan Nagaño, Robredo made true of her promise to visit the town again.
Addressing her supporters there, she asked them to convince more people to join her cause as there are still 48 days to go before the May 2022 polls.
“Ang role ng pamahalaan ang mag-provide ng inspirasyon para ‘yung tao mararamdaman niya na bahagi siya ng solusyon. Ang klase ng pulitika na pinaniniwalaan natin hindi patronage. Ang tinutulak naming gobyerno ay yung magbibigay ng dignidad sa tao kahit may kakulangan siya (The role of the government is to provide inspiration so the people can feel that they are a part of the solution. The kind of politics we believe in is not patronage. The government we are pushing for will give dignity to the people despite its shortcoming),” Robredo said.