ILOILO CITY – Iloilo Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. announced that a class-action lawsuit is being eyed after the massive New Year blackout that hit Panay Island last week.
“A class-action suit is an option because damage has been caused to our people. We can file a class-action suit under the Civil Code,” said Defensor.
The January 2 to 5 blackout affected not only the province and city of Iloilo but also Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Guimaras.
The governor made the announcement as he is set to attend the January 10 Senate inquiry and the January 11 House investigation that seeks to review the 25-year-old franchise of privately owned National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
ILOILO Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. is set to testify before the Senate and House over blackout in Panay Island last week. (Tara Yap)
The Marcos administration said that NGCP failed as a systems operator when it was unable to prevent the spread of the blackout in Panay which also suffered the same incident last April.
Defensor said that he will wait for information gathered from the Senate and congressional probes to know if there are other entities that can be held liable for the blackouts.
The blackout did not only have a negative impact on the regional economy but also caused disruption to daily life. Classes were cancelled and many residents were unable to sleep comfortably for three nights.