EMERGENCY is often called when there is an abnormality in the usual course of time. In Philippine Laws, once there is imminent danger or threat, Congress could grant the Chief Executive emergency powers. In the last few months, the Energy Department put up a red flag and told the country that there will be a power shortage come 2015. It threatened the nation that if we will not do something now, there will be outbreaks of brownouts and blackouts. The solution is to grant the President emergency powers to create and build new power plants and generators. What a good call.
In a recent news, Congress (both Houses) seem to agree that there is a power crisis and is bent on approving the petition for emergency powers. They (Congress) believe that the move will solve the pre-conceived power shortage by March 2015. What the Senate needs now is just a Malacanang resolution and after the three-week recess, PNoy will have the emergency powers delivered to him on a golden platter. Is there really a need to grant him this? Is this just not another political tactic of his crocodiles and leeches who keep on clinging to him.
A school of thought is now brewing that the granting of emergency powers will also pave the way to the passage of a new style of "martial law." For sure, provisions of the 1972 law or RA 1081 will not be resurrected but a milder one might be cooked up in Congress and in Malacanang. This one shall suspend any holding of elections (NoEl) until such time that there will be stabilization of power. In short, if emergency powers will be unsuccessful, then the fallback shall be the widespread paranoia of electrical power (energy) crisis. (Remember, the oil and water crises during the time of Marcos.) This would now justify the implementation of the martial law - Auino style. This will come out as a result of a perceived popularity of the opposition against the Aquino administration.
Since, I heard of this electric power shortage in 2015, my blood pressure shot up and madness was fuming inside me. Looking back at a time when PNOC (now EDC after the Lopez Group bought the corporation from government) told us in media that they will put up a geothermal plant in the province to augment the power supply of the country. They said that geothermal energy will be one of the solutions to the impending power shortage.
I am mad, for where are their promises. They might have forgotten the many hectares of endemic trees and plants they have to chop down just to put up their power plant. Now is the time to report to the people the energy generation you have done out of destroying and rebuilding the environment. How come we have problems in energy this coming 2015 when in fact there are already other alternative sources of energy?
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Congratulations to the UNO-R Administration and the Medical Technology Department faculty and staff for producing the country's best in the person of Patrick Joseph Mabugat, RMT during the September 2014 Medtech Board examination. Mabugat is number one in the MedTech Board exam.
Belated birthday greetings to Dean John Paolo Villasor, dean of the UNO-R School of Law, and his secretary Tina Tamayao who celebrated their birth anniversaries last September 23.