Tuesday, February 27, 2018
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3 rd district) said yesterday he is calling for power, water and health summits in Negros Occidental to address the province’s needs.

Benitez said he is initiating the holding of the summits and will discuss these with Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., because a power summit is needed as most power contracts of the electric cooperatives in the province are expiring.

The idea is for Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative and Northern Negros Electric Cooperative to bid out their power needs together to bring down power costs, he said.

“In the past they have been bidding it out piecemeal, but if they bid it out all together at one go they will get a cheaper price,” he said.

Local suppliers producing renewable energy like solar power can combine with biomass and other sources of power, Benitez said.

The water summit aims to tackle the proposal of the National Irrigation Authority to create an irrigation highway along our mountain ranges to preserve, protect and maintain water supply, he said.

This will address irrigation, flood control, hydropower needs, tourism and potable water, Benitez added.

The summit will enable everyone to get their acts together, he said.

The health summit will gather rural health unit representatives, city, municipal and provincial health and hospital officials to discuss ways to improve health services.

PhilHealth has a lot of services being offered now that Negros health officials need to know about so they can avail of them, Benitez also said.*CPG