Press Release
January 24, 2016

Duterte-Cayetano to address Zambo's power and water crises

ZAMBOANGA CITY--Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday said they will push for bold solutions and swift actions to adress Zamboanga city's power and water crises.

"Sobra na ang gulo at hirap ng tao sa Mindanao. Hindi na pwede ang pateka-tekang responde ng gobyerno sa mga krisis na kanilang pinapasan," Duterte said.

The tandem said that, if elected, they will push for the expansion and improvement of the government's crop insurance programs to cover more beneficiaries. They also called for the establishment of an Emergency Response Department (ERD) - an autonomous, simplified, and transparent agency that will focus on disaster preparedness and response 24/7.

"Tama na ang pa-patse patseng pagtugon ng gobyerno sa mga biktima ng kalamidad," the duo said, referring to the National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council (NDRRMC), which was widely criticized for its slow response when the country was hit by super-typhoon Yolanda.

"What we need is a strong government department that will comprehensively respond to the people's immediate concerns in times of emergencies and disasters," Duterte said.

Cayetano for his part stressed the need to institute preemptive, intensified disaster-risk management measures in agriculture as well as a comprehensive rehabilitation program that will sustain farmers' livelihood for the duration of El Niño.

"Mayor Duterte and I will ensure that the farmers of Zamboanga will have alternative livelihood opportunities and more than enough capital to start and sustain their own small businesses, so in times of calamities, they will have other sources of income," Cayetano said.

On the city's power outages lasting 2-9 hours a day, the duo said the impending El Nino might worsen the crisis. This is on top of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placing Mindanao under "yellow alert" status after a series of bombings toppled transmission towers cutting off electricity generated from the Agus 1 and 2 hydro plants from the Mindanao grid.

"What is needed is political will. If elected, we will immediately transfer the Department of Energy (DoE) to Mindanao. I believe a Mindanao-based DoE can help in protecting better our public utilities and respond effectively and comprehensively to the power crisis," Duterte said.

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