CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — President Bongbong Marcos Jr. has certainly exceeded expectations even from critics.

While the Duterte camp escalated their attacks on the president, especially on the P20 per kilo rice promise, pulvoron, and calls for people’s power, the President was magnanimous in addressing gut issues, admitting the necessity of bringing down prices of basic commodities and the attendant difficulties in taming inflation.

Cagayan de Oro 2^nd district congressman Rufus B. Rodriguez was happy with the inclusion of the review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act in the State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2024. In turn Cong. Rodriguez calls for reviewing provisions on the privatization of Mindanao’s power backbone, the Agus-Pulangi hydroelectric power plants, and the need to rehabilitate the power plants.

Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte, generally Northern Mindanao, the island’s coal corridor, has the country’s highest power rates. Evidence are pointing to coal as the reason.

Rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower plants would boost Mindanao’s reliance on clean, affordable, and reliable energy. Anent to this is the early retirement and ban of new coal-fired power plants, like the Steag-Mindanao coal-fired power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental.

There are ripe proposals for the management of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower plants. While the anti-privatization movement has prevented the power plants from falling into the hands of the energy oligarchs for over 20 years, now is the time to take stock of that battle victory of the people and move on, otherwise, the aging hydropower plants are just operated to death.

Last May 30 and 31, power stakeholders gathered in Iligan City for the Mindanao Power Summit. A resolution calling for the rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower plants was passed. A signature campaign that followed the resolution has around 1,500 signatures.

The clamor is against the power oligarchs getting their hands on the hydropower plants. That is understandable as these oligarchs are responsible for the heavy influx of coal-fired power plants since the Steag-Mindanao coal-fired power plant was commissioned in 2006. From less than 10% then, the coal dependence of Mindanao grew to 50% in 2022. The fastest growth of coal in Mindanao happened in 2015-2022.

During a power forum in Manila organized by the Philippine Offshore Wind Energy Resource (Power) two weeks ago, the Ambassador of Denmark Franz-Michael Mellbin said he is amused that the Philippines imports 98% of its coal from Indonesia when it has 100% Filipino solar energy, 100% Filipino wind energy. He emphasized that the country is energy self-sufficient and should not depend on imported fuel.

It is not true that hydropower is no longer dependable because of El Nino, generally climate change. This narrative, I suspect, is a creation of the coal pushers. The lowering of water levels in Lake Lanao is natural and man-made.

The manifesto on Agus-Pulangi submitted by Mindanaoans to the President blamed the privatization of the power industry for higher power rates.

Furthermore, the sale of the National Power Corporation’s power barges in Nasipit. Agusan de Oro and Maco, Davao de Oro, with a combined capacity of 200 megawatts in 2009 “crippled effective reservoir management of Lake Lanao, pushing the lake’s ecology to the brink of disaster.”

The manifesto further notes that:

“Of the 650 MW of Agus Pulangui remaining Dependable Capacity after reserves, only 460 MW have been contracted which may not have all been bought.  Hence Agus is forced to dump water / renewable energy from Agus Plants, which, resulted in the estimated loss of 61.3 billion kWh of carbon-free energy that could have reduced electricity rates in Mindanao.”

Hopefully, this time, Malacanang will listen to Mindanaoan voices.