Zamboanga del Sur town fails to pay electricity bill, plunges offices into darkness

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TAMBULIG, Zamboanga del Sur — The local government was plunged into darkness on Monday when it opened for business after power was cut to 12 offices due to the town’s failure to pay its electricity bills.

As a stopgap measure, Mayor Charlotte Dumanjug-Panal asked the Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative No. 1 (Zamsureco 1) to temporarily connect offices, especially the local police station and disaster relief agencies, to the power lines at City Hall so that they can continue to function normally.

To avoid overloading the power distribution, air conditioning is not allowed in all offices, and electricity is limited to computers and lighting.

The mayor blamed the dire situation on the city council, whose members allegedly delayed the passage of a proposed supplementary budget that would have provided the local government with enough funds to pay Zamsureco 1’s electricity bills.

On June 25, Zamsureco line workers disconnected electricity connections at 12 offices, including the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), the Water Office, and the Municipal Police Office, which still had unpaid electricity bills totaling P145,000.

Pannar said they received a power outage notice from the electric cooperative on June 14.

According to the mayor, they are facing these difficulties because the City Council is still deliberating on the P6.5-million supplementary budget. The proposed measure submitted on May 10 was supposed to cover electricity bills for local government offices, salaries for contract workers, and other operating expenses for various frontline offices.

Finance Committee Chairman Councillor David Doong Sr. said through the provincial information office that part of the proposed measure is still under review and they requested supporting documentation but it has not yet been provided.

But municipal administrator Francois Yitzhak Cagoco said they always comply with councillors’ document requests, but every time they meet one request, another one pops up a week later.

Kagoko said he had no idea when the seemingly endless string of document requests would end. He said it had already been dragging on for more than a month.

Panar said she had a difficult time getting along with the councillors because they did not share the same political stance. On Monday, July 1, the regional office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government called the mayor and the councillors to request a dialogue.

If supplemental funds are not provided soon, Pannar fears that City Hall’s power lines will also be cut, affecting the entire city government compound and all street lights.