Pacquiao, Razon join hands to operate South Cotabato electric cooperative
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Former Sen. Manny Pacquiao and business tycoon Enrique Razon have forged a joint business venture to operate the power distributor serving this city and adjacent provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato.
Pacquiao’s MP Holdings Inc. and Prime Electric Holdings Corp., a subsidiary of Razon’s Prime Energy Resources Development, will bail out the cash-strapped South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II) that provides electricity to some 170,000 customers.
Socoteco II had been at the receiving end of widespread criticisms due to inefficient power services and high rates as a result of system losses ranging from P20 to P30 million per month.
Former broadcaster Jan-Jan Macailing, lead convenor of Tingog Konsumidor, accused Socoteco II of alleged lack of transparency on the financial instability of the cooperative from the huge monthly system losses.
He said the system losses resulted in unstable power supply to customers.
Pacquiao assured that consumers will have efficient power supply from a financially-stable power distributor equipped with state-of-the art facilities and equipment.