Jarred D. Pescadero
Mactan National High School
“Kumukutikutitap.” That is how Christmas lights are supposed to look. They blink, shine and make the streets feel alive. But perhaps the Filipino Christmas spirit has become a little too strong this year. We love Christmas lights so much that it seems Cebu itself has joined the display, “turning the city into one giant, blinking Christmas light display.
But there is nothing festive about losing electricity when you need it most. When the power goes out, classes can be interrupted. Work can be delayed. Businesses can lose valuable time and income. Even simple things like charging a phone, studying at night, or keeping a fan running become difficult. Rotational brownouts do not simply take away electricity. They take away time.
Perhaps Gov. Pamela Baricuatro is right when she said, “We want more investments. We want industries to expand. We want more businesses and more jobs for Cebuanos. But none of these can happen sustainably if our energy supply cannot keep pace with our growth.” Reliable electricity is not merely a convenience. It supports education, livelihoods, communication and everyday life.
What is even more troubling is how quickly people are expected to adapt. Charge your phone before the power goes out. Finish your homework early. Keep a flashlight nearby. Check the schedule. Adjust again. These may seem like small solutions, but they reveal something bigger. People are being taught to work around unreliable electricity instead of expecting reliable electricity to work for them.
So yes, Cebu may be blinking like a giant Christmas light. It may even look funny from a distance. But behind those darkened lights are people waiting for the power to come back on. A city deserves to shine because it is alive, not because it has learned to survive the dark. We should not teach people how to live with the darkness. We should make sure they do not have to.