WEEKLONG BLACK-OUTS IN ISABELA /' JUAN' LEAVES MORE FARMERS JOBLESS
[PHOTO AT LEFT COURTESY OF THE ALL-VOICES WEBSITE]
MANILA, OCTOBER 21, 2010 (STAR) By Donnabelle Gatdula - Provinces badly affected by typhoon "Juan," particularly Isabela, Kalinga, Apayao and Cagayan, will have no power supply until next week, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said yesterday.
NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said the Gamu-Tuguegarao 230 kV line, which transmits power to Isabela, Kalinga, Apayao and Cagayan, was severely damaged.
She said around 100 linemen have been deployed to the affected provinces, which include Mountain Province, Abra, and parts of Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Nueva Ecija and Aurora.
Perez-Alabanza said it would take seven days to bring back into operation the 11 towers toppled by the typhoon.
Three towers were initially toppled by the typhoon: Tower 390 near Gamu, Isabela and Towers 434 and 477 in Tamuini, Isabela. The others fell late afternoon yesterday.
The affected lines are Tuguegarao-Magapit 69 kV, Magapit-Sta. Ana 69 kV, Tuguegarao-Tabuk 69 kV, La Trinidad-Bulalacao 69 kV, Kadampat-Masinloc 230kV, San Manuel-Kadampat 500kV, San Manuel-Manaoag 69kV, Santiago-Gamu 230 kV, Bayombong-Lagawe 69kV, Bongabon-Baler 69 kV and Bauang-Naguilian 69 kV line.
Perez-Alabanza said Metro Manila may continue to experience three-hour rotating blackouts until the Kadampat-Masinloc 230 kV line is restored. The destruction of the line curtailed the delivery of power from the 600-megawatt Masinloc coal fired power plants in Zambales to the metropolis.
"Masinloc 1 and 2 are now at zero (generation). Masinloc was isolated because of the downed transmission line," Perez-Alabanza said.
She said the coal fired Sual power plant, which is capable of generating 1,000 megawatts, can only produce 225 megawatts because of problems in transmission and difficulty in reclaiming coal from the coal yard.
TeaM Energy Philippines said Sual Unit 1 is online, and not on emergency shutdown as speculated.
"As of 1:55 p.m., Oct. 19, Unit 1 is online and has been so far the past three days. While Sual is being battered by the storm, we are doing the best we can to keep the plant running," TeaM Energy said in a statement.
The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has started the rehabilitation of damaged distribution lines in its electric cooperatives. NEA said power supply in Ilocos Norte has been restored.
The Pangasinan III Electric Cooperative has restored power to Urdaneta and Binalonan while the Isabela Electric Cooperative has restored power to Santiago City.
Benguet Electric Cooperative has restored power to La Trinidad and Baguio City. NEA said the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative has restored power in the 12 towns under its franchise area.
Experiencing power outages, however, are the Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative, La Union Electric Cooperative, Pangasinan Electric Cooperative I, Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative, Cagayan I Electric Cooperative, Cagayan II Electric Cooperative, Isabela II Electric Cooperative, Nueva Vizcaya Electric Cooperative, Quirino Electric Cooperative, Ifugao Electric Cooperative, Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative and Mountain Province Electric Cooperative.
'Juan' leaves more farmers jobless By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) Updated October 21, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (2) View comments
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) lamented yesterday that the destruction caused by typhoon "Juan" in the past days is expected to increase the number of jobless workers nationwide.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the typhoon destroyed an estimated P1.5-billion worth of agricultural crops and could increase unemployment in the agricultural sector.
"Unemployment rate for the month of October is normally high because it's the typhoon season, but it could even go higher this year considering the devastation wreaked by typhoon Juan," Baldoz said.
She said the typhoon struck the rice-producing provinces in northern Luzon where agriculture is the main source of livelihood.
"Although most of our industries are doing well, typhoon Juan will surely cause a dent in the employment rate in the agriculture sector and the national employment rate as well," Baldoz said.
Baldoz said DOLE is still waiting for reports on the number of displaced workers from the storm-affected regions.
She said the negative impact of Juan on the country's employment rate would be known only when the National Statistics Office (NSO) releases the results of the October Labor Force Survey early next year.
Baldoz said she already directed all the department's Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) in the typhoon-affected regions to immediately provide assistance to workers displaced by typhoon Juan.
She said QRTs would also exert efforts to facilitate immediate employment for those typhoon-affected workers from northern Luzon.
Dr. Danilo Tumamao, Isabela agriculture officer, said an initial report showed that P758,732,331 worth of palay ready for harvesting was damaged by the typhoon in the province.
He said 3,000 farmers who worked on 43,560 hectares of rice land were affected by the storm.
Isabela farmers have not yet recovered from losses caused by the drought last summer that damaged P5 billion worth of rice and corn.
Isabela Vice Gov. Rodito Albano said President Aquino had recommended that Isabela be placed under a state of calamity.
Isabela's coastal towns of Palanan, Maconacon, Dinapigue and Divilacan and the island town of Calayan remain isolated with communication facilities still down. These towns could only be reached by boat or aircraft.
In Cagayan, at least P300 million worth of crops were destroyed.
"That's only a partial assessment. We are still collating reports of more losses in terms of agriculture damage," said Cagayan provincial administrator Joseph Pauig.
Pauig said members of the Cagayan provincial board are also set to place the province under a state of calamity.
The typhoon destroyed P120 million worth of banana plants in Quirino province.
Dr. Andrew Villacorta, Department of Agriculture director for Cagayan Valley, had earlier reported that an estimated P1.3 billion worth of standing crops could have been damaged by the typhoon.
Recto seeks crop insurance
Against typhoons Sen. Ralph Recto is pushing for full crop insurance coverage for agrarian reform beneficiaries in order to provide them with some security during typhoons.
Recto said the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) provides agricultural insurance but only a small number of farmers avail themselves of this because of the high premiums that they have to pay for coverage.
"Although half of the premium is subsidized by the government, the remaining 50 percent is still a burden to some of our poor farmers," Recto said.
According to Recto, the cumulative insurance coverage and claims paid for rice and corn by the PCIC from 1981 to 2007 amounted to only P2.5 billion.
"That is just a fraction of the damage that resulted from the typhoons that hit the country last year. It now becomes more imperative that we expand the crop insurance coverage to allow more farmers security in times of emergency," he said.
Recto emphasized the need for crop insurance coverage particularly when storms with magnitudes and frequencies such as those that came in last year damaged approximately 1.38 million metric tons of rice.
He said that this was on top of the losses caused by the El Niño dry spell, which may be as much as 816,372 MT of rice worth P12.24 billion this year.
"These kinds of disasters take a great toll on Filipinos, especially those in the agriculture sector, and needless to say, farmers suffer the greater loss," Recto said.
Recto has filed a bill that would amend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms and provide full crop insurance coverage to qualified beneficiaries.
He said the proposed law should have been enacted after seeing the devastating effects of typhoons "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" last year on our agricultural sector. "With the most powerful storm in recent memory ravaging our croplands in northern Luzon, the passage of this measure now becomes mandatory," Recto said.
Recto cited the report of agriculture officials on the damage brought about by typhoon Juan to rice crops in Cagayan Valley, which was pegged at 105,000 MT.
He said that crop insurance is a risk management tool designed to even out agricultural risks and address the consequences of natural disasters to make losses more bearable, especially to the marginalized farmers.
Recto said it is necessary for agrarian reform program beneficiaries to have full coverage in order to widen the reach of crop insurance among farmers.
"We should not have to wait for the next super typhoon to again ravage our farmlands and leave our farmers with nothing but the prospect of a bleak future. Our farmers need all the assistance they can get," Recto said. - With Marvin Sy and Charlie Lagasca
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