LASURECO GM WELCOMES PROBE OF ITS OPERATION

                                                                   Phil Pa alan, Ric Clet

MARAWI CITY – Sultan Ashary P. Maongco, general manager of the LANAO DEL SUR ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (LASURECO) welcomes the request of ProvinciaL Governor MamintaL A. Adiong, Jr. of Lanao del Sur to look into the whole operation  of the LASURECO as he challenged Gov. Adiong to also welcome the request to look into the financial operation of the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur.

GM Maongco was reacting to the news report entitled, ARMM SEEKS PROBE OF POWER COOPS by John Unson published in the Philippine Star.

Gov. Adiong requested the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to look into the whole operation of LASURECO, while GM Maongco also requested the Office of the President and the Commission on Audit (COA) to look into the financial operation of the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur. Adiong accused LASURECO of no calibration meter, the P6.8 billion debt of Lasureco and political involvement. Maongco, on the other hand, wants how the provincial government spends its Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) in the amount of about P105 million per month and all other government and foreign assisted projects like the Saudi Funds for Development (SFD). He also requested DILG, DOE and COA to look into the application of the provincial shares from the national wealth derived from the operations of Agus 1 and 2 Hydroelectric Plants of PSALM, which requires that at least eighty (80%) percent thereof should be used for the reduction of electric rates of the host communities. He claims that despite the huge amount of money given to the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur, its people are not able to pay their power bills.

In response to Governor Adiong’s accusation on no calibration meter, Maongco explained, “When we arrived in LASURECO, there was a so-called Pakyaw System between the municipal mayors and the previous managements. The amount of money was not fixed but depending on the pleasure of the mayors. Most of the time, the amount paid did not reach the cooperative entirely. But gradually, we implemented such reform province-wide through institutionalization of member-consumers so that lifeline rates and evaluation of the households  APPLIANCES CAN BEDETERMINED AS A FIRST STEP OF KNOWING THEIR CONSUMPTION. After that,we implemented the individual metering system for the pilot municipalities of Ditsaan-Ramain, MarantaO, Balindong,Tugaya, Saguiaran, and Malabang, Lanao del Sur and Pantar and Balo-I in Lanao del Norte as well as Marawi City. However, this program did not fully work so we resorted to cluster-metering.  Along with this, the municipalities and barangays that are not viable for individual and/or cluster metering, we installed transformer and primary metering province-wide. This is like BAPA or MUPA.  Now that we have accurately determined their power consumptions, these municipalities or barangays are questioning it and refusing to pay the total amount registered in the transformer or primary meters.”

Maongco continued, “We also proposed power rationing to those who can not afford to pay the individual metering or the transformer/primary metering. Just the same, the resistance to pay is pervasive, owing to poverty and poor governance. This leaves us no recourse but to disconnect delinquent member-consumers.”

Maongco concluded, “In short, the accusation of Governor Adiong is a big lie. Although we have no money, we have implemented the transformer and primary metering so we can measure municipal and individual consumptions. And now, we are in the process of correcting from individual metering to cluster metering all over the municipalities that are viable simultaneously with our on-going 69 KV lines and 13.2 KV circumferential distribution lines, which we could not do overnight.  But this will be completed by the first quarter of 2014 even though we have to borrow money left and right.”   

With regards to the P6.8 billion debt, Maongco said, ”The debt has been inherited from previous managements, and it was impossible to stop its growth because of increase in rates and power purchase and also application of interests and other charges.  This debt was incurred by the member-consumers who owed the cooperative P7.5 billion.  Lasureco, because of its strong leadership, has a solution to this debt problem.  First, the collection efficiency must increase to 95%; system loss must be reduced to 12%, power purchase must  comply with the mechanisms of the Interim Mindanao electricity Market, increase in power sales to its member-consumers, and become current with PSALM and NGCP through Special Payment Arrangement (SPA) and/or Sustainable Payment Scheme (SPS) because the coop is under rehabilitation. This will enable the cooperative to secure the recommendation of the Secretary of Energy for the President and Congress for the condonation of the debt.  Along with this, LASURECO would meet all its targets by April of 2014 because all of its programs are already laid down.”

With respect to political involvement, Maongco said, “This is another blatant lie. Contrary to the policies of previous managements, Team Lasureco is strictly resisting political interventions. It has nothing to do with politics in the province or the towns.  We have never allowed politics to compromise our strong policy on disconnection.  Long before the May 13, 2013 elections, most of the towns under the franchise coverage of Lasureco were disconnected for their failure to pay their power bills, either individually or by transformer metering.  First disconnection was February 5, 2013 and we disconnected them on May 19, 2013 because we had to comply with NEA directive for us to provide power during the day of elections. We announced that if they did not pay, we would disconnect them on May 17, 2013.  But two weeks after the elections, we immediately disconnected those who refused to pay. However, before the month of Ramadhan, the president and vice president of the Mayors League of Lanao del Sur and the Governor begged to be reconnected promising to  pay later based on the transformer metering, pakyaw system or power rationing methods.  The meeting took place at the headquarters of the 103^RD Brigade in the presence of the Brigade Commander himself.  Unfortunately, these local executives did not keep their promise and no payment was made;  instead they told their constituents not to pay their bills and blame Lasureco for their woes.  We had no choice but to disconnect them again on August 22, 2013.  Then they resorted to signing petitions against the management of Lasureco.”

Maongco continued. “One of the relatives of the official of Lasureco whom Governor Adiong referred to is actually his political ally, who now serves as his spokesman being the provincial information officer.  Whether he lost or not is not important in this issue because we did not compromise Lasureco to entice voters;  in fact, LGU officials promised their support for him if we reconnected them without payment at all. We did not succumb to this horse-trading business, because that is contrary to our vision and mission for the  cooperative”