Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday, Feb. 3, promised to make electric cooperatives (ECs) a part of the “energy family” if she’s elected president in the May 2022 polls, rejecting proposals to privatize the cooperatives.

Speaking before the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca) in Pampanga, the Vice President said “it is time” to have representatives from the ECs in the Department of Energy (DOE) to give them a “voice” in the crafting of policies for the energy sector.

“Kaya ako po pag ako binigyan ng pagkakataong makapagsilbi, ang isa sa mga commitment ko sa inyo ay siguradong may mga representatives galing sa sektor ninyo na magiging bahagi ng energy family na lagi ang konsultahin (If I am given a chance to serve, one of my commitments is to make sure that there are representatives from your sector in the energy family that we can always consult),” she told the audience.

“Dahil para po sa akin ang sukat lang kung tayo ay bumubuti bilang isang bansa, kung ‘yung mga naiiwan sa baba ay natutulungan natin na tumaas. Sa energy sector kayo ‘yung magpo-provide na ‘yun (Because for me, the measure if we are progressing as a country is when we are able to help those in the bottom. In the energy sector, you will provide that),” Robredo said.

Her promise is part of the people-centered governance she hopes to institutionalize by creating a Robredo People’s Council for every sector.

She thumbed down suggestions to privatize ECs despite some “controversies,” saying that one of the strengths of the cooperatives is their being non-profit.

The ECs, an important component of National Electrification Administration (NEA), was established under the late President Ferdinand Marcos with the objective of totally electrifying the country.

READ: Robredo says the Beneco takeover an ‘eye opener’ for NEA, gov’t

The cooperatives are non-stock, non-profit entities that aim to provide electricity service even in the remotest parts of the country.

Lately, problems in some ECs, particularly in the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), raised questions on the efficiency of having them.

“Ito po, ang paniniwala ko ‘yung pagkakaroon natin ng (My belief is that having) electric cooperatives ay isa sa pinakamalaking mechanismo, pinakamalaking vehicle para ‘yung pinaka (is one of the biggest mechanisms, biggest vehicle so the biggest) stakeholder sa (in) energy sector ay merong boses (will have a voice),” Robredo said.

The Vice President, who is also the leader of the opposition, added that she’s an “advocate” that public utilities should “not be profit-oriented.”

She stressed that being profit-oriented would delay the Rural Electrification Program, another law passed by Marcos.

“Kasi kapag nag cost-benefit na tayo, hindi na tayo pupunta sa pinakamalalayo kasi lugi na tayo (Because when we do cost-benefit, we are not going to the farthest place because we’ll be at a loss),” Robredo said.

Insisting that energy will become the country’s biggest problem, the aspiring president expressed her support of ECs because “they need all the help they can get” to empower their advocacies.