Author: SORECO DOS

On July 29, 2018 at around 6:00PM, NEA Administrator Edgardo Rama Masongsong arrived at SORECO II Main Office, Buhatan, Sorsogon City after he attended the stakeholders meeting in Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO)

In his dialogue with the Board, Management and employees at Casa Dominga, NEA Administrator promised them of his eagerness to support and help SORECO II for its continuous improvement and success. He said that he wants to go back to SORECO II for the launching of S2 radio-tv projects and he intends to attend the coop’s general assembly next year.

He averred that the coop’s radio and tv projects are laudable and he plans to use it for benchmarking so that   all other ECs can replicate the same.# Jose E. Dellosa

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed into law the bill creating the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF), officials said.

The law will go into the books as Republic Act 11039, ECERF Act. It aims to assist to Electric Cooperatives (ECs) affected by natural disasters to restore and rehabilitate damaged infrastructure.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) will be tasked to coordinate with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in coming up with policies for the implementation of the law.

Under RA 11039, ECs will be required to submit comprehensive and integrated disaster management programs, which will be evaluated by the NEA and NDRRMC. These include Emergency Response Plans, Vulnerability and Risk Assessments, and Resiliency Compliance Plans, among others.

Based on these submissions, the NEA will produce its own National Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Plan (NECERP) to be integrated with the NDRRMC Plan.

The law mandates that P750 million of NDRRMC funds be allocated for the initial implementation of the ECERF Act. The NEA may also receive “donations in the form of funds, materials or equipment, whether local or international, intended for the express purpose of restoring or rehabilitating” power facilities.

RA 11039 consolidates Senate Bill 1461 and House Bill 7054 and was approved by the Bicameral Conference Committee on March 7, 2018.# Source— Charmaine A. Tadalan- Business Word.

“Electric cooperatives are not just suppliers, providers or  distributors of electricity but real instruments of social justice as stated in the constitution, R.A. 9520 and PD 269”, SORECO II General Manager Atty. Percival G. Alvarez said in his speech during the MSEAC 2nd quarter meeting, June 23, 2018 at the MSD Seminar Area SORECO II Bldg., Monreal St., Talisay, Sorsogon City.

GM announced that immediately after the Board convened, they discussed the things on how to help the SORECO II’s friends. “Di lang maghatag kuryente kundi madagdag sin pangkabuhayan sainda”. As the hymn goes –”instrument of progress and social justice”, they believe that every individual has the right to light and  prosperity. The creators of PD 269 believed that ‘when there’s light, there’s hope, when there’s electricity there’s progress because electricity is a catalyst of reform. “These words are empty unless we give life to them”, the GM stated. “With that, the Board decided to have a program in SORECO II which we called the “Dagdag Pangkabuhayan Program”. According to NEA this is a very laudible project. No EC in the whole Philippines has created a program like this. SORECO II will be marked as first to venture into this endeavor. The rule is that the community/sectoral leaders should be involved in this undertaking that’s why SORECO II has this MSEAC. “There are already training schedules to be harmonized with TESDA schedule”, the GM Added. Board President Aurelio Destacamento also gave his updates on the coop board’s accomplishments, plans and programs.#micdelrosario

The SORECO II Board of Directors recently passed Board Resolution No. 178 on June 30, 2018, approving the request for assistance of Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO) in the conduct of its scheduled district elections dubbed as- “Task Force ALECO District Elections 2018”, which will be participated in by other bicol electric cooperatives.

In a bid to reconstitute the board of directors of Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO), NEA-Project Supervisor Atty. Omar M. Mayo and Operations Manager Gerard J. Balgemino, sought the assistance of the Bicol Electric Cooperatives’ Association (BECA) headed by CASURECO I GM & BECA President Ana Sylvia M. Alsisto and the Bicol Association of Institutional Managers (Bicol AIM) through its President, SORECO II MSD Manager Ramoncito J. Carranza, in the conduct of board directors’ elections for its nine (9) districts during the BECA meeting held on June 6, 2018 in Naga City.

Atty. Mayo, NEA PS explained that due to the recent mass resignations of ALECO board of directors, he was compelled to order the immediate holding of district elections but the coop has no sufficient manpower since ALECO has only nine (9) employees.

GM Ana Sylvia M. Alsisto assured PS Mayo that BECA will help ALECO. On June 13 and 27, 2018, the joint BECA-Bicol AIM meetings were held at the ALECO office in Legaspi City and made plans for the conduct of said activities.

The sequential schedules of the district elections are: August 25- District III (Malilipot, Bacacay & Sto Domingo); September 01-District IV (Legaspi Port & Rapu-Rapu); September 15- District VII (Guinobatan, Jovellar & Pio Duran); September 29-District V (Albay Dist & Manito) and VI (Daraga & Camalig); and October 13-District I (Tiwi & Malinao) & II (Tabaco).

With the SORECO II BR# 178, GM Percival G. Alvarez committed to send thirty-six (36) SORECO II volunteer-employees who will serve as members of the Precinct Election Committeees (PECOM) in Malilipot, Daraga and Tiwi areas. Other bicol ECs will also field their employees as PECOM members in other designated districts #moncarranza

The SORECO II Multi-Sectoral Electrification Advisory Councils sought the help of the National Electrification Administration (NEA), non-governmental & governmental bodies and congressionial representatives to endorse to congress the amendment of the Senior Citizens’ Act (RA 9994) by applying the 5% electricity discount on the first 100 kwh electric consumption of senior citizens.

During the MSEAC’s quarterly meeting on April 23, 2018 at the SORECO II-MSD training area, Dr. Virgilio S. Real, MSEAC- Sorsogon East District Chair, explained that the law only grants the 5% discount on the utilization of electricity registered in the name of the senior citizen if the monthly consumption does not exceed one hundred kilowatt hours (100 kWh) of electricity.

He addded that such provision amounts to discrimination against those senior citizens whose electricity consumptions exceeded 100 kilowatt-hours per month as they are excluded from this law which is supposed to be a piece of social legislation crafted primarily for the benefit of senior citizens regardless of their financial or social status;

He further added that the seniors who have consumed more than 100 kwh are unwittingly subsidizing the 5% electricity discount given to seniors with 100 kwh or less electricity consumption, thus creating further injustice.

For these reasons, the attending MSEAC members from the nine districts of SORECO II  were unanimous in passing the resolution calling for such an amendment to the senior citizens’ law.#mon carranza