“Twisted facts and wrong motivations are the main ingredients contained in the series of statements released to the media against me,” said Catanduanes Governor Joseph C. Cua reacting to the spate of tirades and innuendos hurled against him after he had represented his province to oppose an application for an electricity supply agreement.

        The deal for the construction of mini hydro electrical plants in several towns in the island was entered between the First Catanduanes Electic Cooperative, Inc., (FICELCO) and the Sunwest Water and Electric Corporation (SUWECO).

        The governor said that even before the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission, SUWECO had already started to mobilize, and build access road and staff house beside Solong Waterfalls in San Miguel town. All these, He said were done without any official consultations with the concerned local governments.

        Several residents, especially those belonging to the professional sector had been calling the attention of some board members and other provincial officials over highly suspicious provisions and nature of the agreement.

        The governor said he shared the apprehensions of those who were alarmed at the absence of any penalty clause in the agreement should SUWEDO fail to comply with the basic requirements of fully supplying the power it claimed it would generate.

        These developments and other violations of procurement procedures and several infirmities in the agreement, he said, was what prompted the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to pass Resolution No. 062-2008 granting the governor the authority to represent the province in its opposition to the FICELCO/SUWECO deal.

        He said that all the malicious imputations against him came from the same source. This, he said, first appeared in the form of flyers being distributed all over the province, including full spread expensive ads in two local weeklies being published in Catanduanes. "These paid black propaganda materials never presented the true issues involved", he said. "They were pure garbage directed at me but not advancing the cause of the project," Cua added.

        He said that his tormentors had been spreading the ugly lies that he was opposing the construction of an environment-friendly energy source because he was in the business of supplying bunker fuel and the likes. "Many times I have announced publicly that I favor mini-hydros but they keep on connecting me to a business where I am no longer personally connected." "I have divested myself of my private business connections because I know what conflict of interest means to a government servant," Cua said.

        "Mr. Elizaldy ‘Zaldy’ Co and company, is diverting public attention as he hides the fact that the real issue here is just to lower their price (PhP5.40/kwh) and at least have the decency of consulting with elected officials with whom they will be dealing with in the next 30 years if they intend to do business in the province," the governor further said.

        The governor was also questioning the absence of any track record on the part of SUWECO which shows they had no experience at all in mini-hydro construction project. It was only registered with the SEC on Oct. 13, 2005, with no actual operations as per the Annual Financial Statements they submitted for their ESA application. The governor showed his concern for the absence of any experience on the part of the contractor who was vying for a 30 year supply agreement in his province.

        He also deplored the absence of any bidding for the construction of several plants in the province. The governor said that if bidding was conducted, there would have been a greater chance for a much lower rate other than the one offered by SUWECO. "Even the EPIRA Law provides that the ERC set the rules on the proper conduct of applications for ESA," the governor said.

        Cua also said that what SUWECO did was to gather favorable endorsements from big name politicians and church leaders who had not even set foot in Catanduanes and did not have any knowledge of the contents of the agreement, like Senators Joker Arroyo, Gregorio Honasan, the church or even Kit Tatad himself who had not been seen in Catanduanes for a very long time.

        Cua even questioned the motivations of Tatad in favorably endorsing to ERC Chairman Rodolfo Albano the controversial ESA when he knew that all the multi-purpose gyms constructed in the entire Bicol Region, including Catanduanes were all contracted by the constructing firm of Zaldy Co. The funds for the gyms were from Tatad's countrywide development funds when he was senator, Cua said.

        "If, indeed, they have the concern for Catanduanes and the environment," the governor said, "the least, these supposedly honorable men should do, is convince SUWECO to lower its rate to at least come at par, with that in Mindanao which is only PhP 3.00/kwh," and direct the DENR to closely monitor the mobilization going on at the site which was a watershed and was therefore a protected area. Photos recently taken of the place belied SUWECO's claim that it was environment-friendly.

        Cua stressed that he and the provincial board members of Catanduanes will be remiss in their duties if they will allow the hasty passage of an agreement that will bind the electric consumers here captive for the next 30 years.

        He further said that what he and the residents in this province are clamoring for is that SUWECO should at least lower its rate like in Mindanao which is only PhP3.00. "This price will truly benefit the consumers in this province", the governor finally said./CSB



































Caption: EVEN BEFORE an Electricity Supply Agreement (ESA) was approved, SUWECO already had started mini-hydro construction at the Solong Waterfalls in San Miguel, Catanduanes. Lower photo shows a knee-deep water made shallower because of destruction to the environment in the watershed area.