CEBU, Philippines - For the second time this year, the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) is in darkness after the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 paid only about P30,000 out of their P386,342-electricity bill for a year.
The Visayan Electric Company cut off the CPPO’s electricity at about 1 p.m. yesterday.
Senior Superintendent Patrocinio Comendador, officer-in-charge of the CPPO, said the PRO 7 paid more or less P30,000 because the P200,000-budget from the PNP for the payment of their bill has yet to be released.
The PNP asked for extension of their deadline for payment yesterday but VECO did not grant the request.
“Responsibility gyud ni sa PRO 7. Naa nay bayad pero wala pa lang napirmahan ang check that’s why we asked for an extension,” Comendador said.
Last month, Superintendent Teofilo Siclot, deputy provincial director for operations, reportedly claimed a 100-percent paralysis in the operations of the provincial headquarters when they lost their power connection.
Among the operations affected are the receiving of spot reports from the towns, the sending of journals to the higher headquarters and their water supply.
Comendador explained that the PNP did not pay their electricity bill before, when former provincial director Erson Digal asked assistance from the provincial government.
But it turned out that there was only a memorandum of agreement signed by both parties.
It was stated in the MOA that the Capitol will shoulder the expenses of the infrastructure alone while the PNP will provide the furniture and other logistics needed in the headquarters.
Comendador is hoping that their power connection will be restored today. – Ria Mae Y. Booc/JPM (THE FREEMAN)