TUCP wants Petilla fired for duping the people over power crisis

By TUCP-NAGKAISA
April 24, 2015

QUEZON CITY – The biggest labor group in the country Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) recommended that Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla be fired by President Aquino for deceiving the public with his calls for an emergency powers resolution to address a non-existent power crisis.

Secretary Petilla had warned about brownouts from March to April 2015 while the Malampaya complex underwent improvements.

“Secretary Petilla duped us. He is accountable for scaremongering the entire nation on his emergency power resolution since August of 2014. The “crisis” period has come and gone without requiring use of the Interruptible Load Program and with no brownouts. He must go for misleading the President and for wasting the valuable time of Senate and House of Representatives from July last year to the present on hearings and deliberations on his non-existent power deficit that could have otherwise spent on addressing social legislation and other vital concerns. He no longer deserve the people’s trust,” said TUCP-Nagkaisa national spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.

By raising up the red flag on our power situation, Secretary Petilla scared potential investors who stayed away bringing with them along lost opportunities for the unemployed. The recommendation will be made before the scheduled cabinet meeting on April 30th.

In September last year, Petilla formally asked congress to grant emergency powers to Aquino to contract additional power generating capacity to address alleged shortage of up to 600 mw in summer this year by purchasing or leasing power generators. If Petilla have gotten his away we will be paying for additional P6 to P12 billion in power that would not have been needed, he said.

The group accused Petilla of pushing expensive solutions that would have burdened the consumers. “He has already cost us billions by scaring away investors,” Tanjusay said.