Monday, July 21, 2008 Consolacion pays electric bill arrears
THE streets of Consolacion, Cebu will soon be lighted again.
This development came after Consolacion Mayor Avelino Gungob and Ma. Chona Y. Tiu, Visayan Electric Co. Inc. (Veco) vice president for administration and chief financial officer, signed recently a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the settlement of the municipality’s unpaid bills, which accumulated to a total of P5 million.
Recognizing the need for the local government to continuously deliver basic services to the people, Gungob agreed to pay the amount, representing the electricity consumption of the town’s streetlights from February 2003 to May 2005.
The supply of electricity to the streetlights has been disconnected since May 2005 after the bills accumulated to more than P5 million because some barangays failed to pay their bills.
Municipal Councilor Ben Ermac sponsored the resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a MOA with Veco to settle the unpaid bills.
Responsibility
Gungob said that after the payment and signing of the MOA, the responsibility to pay for the streetlights’ electric bills will now be shouldered by the barangays.
The Municipal Government will no longer pay the barangays’ bills, he said.
Veco said barangay captains need to issue a certification, declaring that an amount has been allocated equivalent to one year of the barangay’s electric consumption.
Consolacion has already paid an initial P600,000, while the remaining amount will be paid in a regular yearly amortization of P1.5 million starting March 2009 to 2011.
