MikeLigalig.com

By Lovely A. Carillo

DAVAO CITY, Feb. 15 (PNA) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will leave the legacy of almost full electrification to Mindanaoans, with majority of the 9,730 total barangays in Mindanao already electrified, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Ricardo Saludo said on Monday.

“About 9,600 or 99 percent of the total barangays in Mindanao are already electrified. This means a lot to an island that has continuously complained of being left in the backwater of the country’s development since electricity brings the barangays to the 21st century,” he said during a press conference here.

Saludo said this is a 46-percent increase compared to the 6,565 total barangays electrified in the year 2000.

He said Mindanao is able to generate growth that is not dependent on electricity at all.

“You don’t need electricity to grow crops,” he said.

However, he added, the government has seen to it that Mindanao has the necessary electricity needed to encourage the growth of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector.

When asked about the power shortage in Mindanao, Saludo said there is no power shortage here but only a tripping of the power lines.

“This is not a problem of generation but of transmission,” he added.

He said the issue on power shortage is tricky since it is also a sign of economic development.

There could be a shortage of power, he added, because development went faster than expected.

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