LOOKING at our power situation, I am reminded of the chase, with the chaser catching up, left behind again, catching up and left behind again. That blackout (local papers reported the duration differently: five hours, six hours and nine hours) last Saturday told us that our power supply needs catching up with the power demand again.

Before I left for work in the afternoon of that day, I dusted off our kerosene lamp, checked the battery of our flashlight and left the items in the hands of our helper who would be left behind at night with the kids. Power was restored late afternoon, though, saving my family the hassle. But I doubt if that lamp would remain unlighted for long.

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Which brings me to the use of terms. We often refer to blackouts as brownouts when the scope of the power outage is not wide. But brownouts, more properly, only refer to a drop in voltage causing lights to dim (thus, brown). A blackout is total loss of power, like when power stations trip. Lights don’t just dim, they’re out (thus, black).

Last Saturday’s power outage was technically a blackout, but since it happened when the sun was up, the blackout was actually not discernible. But it did affect not only the usefulness of appliances, especially refrigerators and air conditioning units, but more so the operation of firms, especially those engaged in the manufacture of commodities.

The more damaging effect of blackouts is in the economy that is why government agencies involved in the power sector should start getting serious in finding ways for the power supply to again overtake the demand. Now is even the most opportune time to do it because the economic crunch is holding back the entry of more investments to Cebu.

The public, meanwhile, especially the business sector, should not ease up the pressure but continue to push those concerned to act on the problem. Warnings on the power supply problem have been issued many years back, so spewing more saliva on the matter is no longer needed. Action, a determined one, is the only way to go from here.

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If Lapu-Lapu City officials really want to raise the commemoration of the “Battle of Mactan” to a higher level, then they better re-conceptualize the historic event’s presentation. Despite efforts to make the annual “Kadaugan sa Mactan” celebration fly, it has remained on the ground through the years and could well become irrelevant soon.

How do you reenact a bloody battle in a non-violent manner and not reduce the reenactment into a caricature of the historic event? Organizers grappled with this question since former customs collector David Odilao conceptualized the “Bahug-Bahug sa Mactan,” the original name of the activity. That question has not been answered till now.

In the most recent edition of the “Kadaugan” I heard complaints about how sloppy the reenactment of the “Battle” was. But it has always been sloppy despite the effort to make it exciting and believable. So why continue with something that is difficult to deliver? I therefore suggest they let go of the reenactment altogether.

The “Battle of Mactan” can actually be celebrated in dance. Choreographers can easily come up with steps and moves that would make for an entertaining presentation while paying homage to Lapu-Lapu’s triumph. Transform the “Kadaugan” into an authentic dance festival not unlike the Sinulog, and I am sure it will soar.

(khanwens@yahoo.com/ my blog: cebuano.wordpress.com)