The House Committee on Visayas Development is expected to begin its inquiry into the worsening power outages in the Visayas grid next week, Deputy Speaker and Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez said Friday, Sept. 11.
Benitez said he filed a resolution on Monday, Sept. 7, seeking the investigation by the committee so all lawmakers from the Visayas can be involved.
They agreed during a Thursday discussion to act motu proprio and will seek approval from the Committee on Rules to schedule the hearing next week, he said.
Department of Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has expressed intent to attend the hearing to present her plan for the Visayas grid, Benitez. said.
“We’re also doing our homework to find out exactly what the problem is… and what the short-term and long-term remedies are moving forward,” he said.
In his resolution, Benitez said that frequent rotational brownouts inflict severe economic losses on local businesses, disrupt classes, jeopardize medical care, and erode investor confidence across the Visayas.*
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