In an effort to help rebuild Typhoon Odette-stricken cities and towns in the Visayas and Mindanao, electric cooperatives in Luzon have sent crew members and donated financial assistance through the Task Force: Tulong Kapatid project to these areas.
In an interview on Sunday, David Solomon Siquian, Philippine Federation of Rural Cooperatives (Philfeco) chairperson and Isabela Electric Cooperative II (ISELCO II) general manager, said aside from helping restore electric power in ravaged provinces, cooperatives in Luzon had also set aside monetary and in-kind assistance for residents in the damaged areas.
A 25-man team left Isabela for the Visayas on Friday aboard several trucks, he said, adding that the power restoration group comprised personnel of the Isabela Electric Cooperative I (ISELCO I), ISELCO II, Cagayan Electric Cooperatives 1 and 2 (CAGELCO 1 and 2), Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative and the North East Luzon Electric Cooperatives Association (NELECA).
The Philfeco Board also allocated PHP100,000 each to the affected Cooperative Development Authority-registered power cooperatives such as those in Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Palawan and Guimaras.
Rural cooperative workers also sent personal donations and cash assistance to National Electrification Administration-supervised electric cooperatives.
Earlier, the groups of electric cooperatives (ECs) were tapped by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (Philreca) to deploy linemen to provinces affected by Typhoon Odette last month.
The member-electric cooperatives through their Regional Task Force commanders reactivated the task force teams with safety officers for deployment.
In 2002, the Task Force Kapatid was launched as a volunteer service by rural cooperatives which seek to group together to mobilize their personnel and logistics to assist other ECs needing immediate rehabilitation of distribution lines in times of calamities to swiftly restore service to member-consumer-owners and alleviate the plight of the rural folks. (PNA)
