Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales Jr. bared such arrangement during an inspection of power facilities in Marawi City in Mindanao.
"Meron kaming pinagkakasunduan sa Napocor, sisiguraduhin namin mga five days — two days before and two days after — siguradong walang brownout sa Mindanao (We are working out an agreement with the National Power Corp., to have five days of no brownouts. Two days before election day and two days after)," Gonzales told radio dzXL in an interview.
Mindanao has been experiencing rotating brownouts lasting from three to 11 hours due to the power shortage brought about by the El Niño phenomenon, which is causing low water elevation in hydro-electric plants in the region. The shortage in energy supply is expected to last until June.
Gonzales said he would call a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council this coming Monday to assess the availability of power generators in Mindanao.
"Mag-inventory tayo ng generators... position natin ang generator sa election day (We will conduct an inventory and position these generators on Election Day)," he said.
Gonzales also said he is toying with the idea of installing mini-nuclear plants in Mindanao, but quickly added that he would study the matter first.
He said a mini-nuclear plant will entail less risk of an environmental tragedy if something untoward occurs.
"Very sensitive ang issue yan (pero) maraming improvement tayo sa technology (It is a very sensitive issue but we have had much improvement in technology)," he said.
Last March 11, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo heeded the recommendation of government bodies to declare a state of calamity in Mindanao.
Placing Mindanao under a state of calamity allows local government units to use up to 5 percent of their internal revenue allotments, which are their share of revenues from the national government.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
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