BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon
The unsung heroes of Beneco

BAGUIO CITY – It is about time the Benguet Electric Coop. starts maintaining not only Baguio’s street lights but also those in nearby Benguet considering it has the expertise and the dedication of its personnel headed by its competent general manager Gerardo Versoza.

I have personally seen up close how the unsung men and women of Beneco work without complaining anytime of the day particularly during emergencies or calamities. Give them a call about a defective post or any problem and they would be there in a jiffy rain or shine and work day and night until the job is done.

They never complain when some officials claim they were the ones who initiated a rescue operation or lighted up an area since they know deep in their hearts that they were the ones who did it and they need not crow about it.

Next time you see a Beneco man during a storm working to get debris out or fixing an electric pole which supplies electricity to your house, give him a warm cup of coffee or better, a hearty meal.
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Better late than never but the Baguio City council is now studying the possibility of allowing the Beneco to maintain the summer capital’s streetlights. A press dispatch from Aileen Refuerzo of the city government’s information office said the council invited Beneco representatives and the city engineer’s office to its session tomorrow to explain their positions on the issue.

The city engineer’s office is at present the one maintaining the streetlights and Beneco has offered to take over the responsibility after Councilor Nicasio Aliping Jr. proposed a resolution supporting the power firm’s request to take charge of lighting maintenance. In his resolution, Aliping cited shortfalls in the engineer’s office’s management including failure to provide light in some areas and the delay in replacing busted lamps due to limited hours of operation and procurement process requirements. He said Beneco has the expertise on this aspect, the power firm could address the lighting requirement better.
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Under the present set-up with the city engineer’s office, the city is paying Beneco an amount equivalent to ten burning hours. If allowed to manage the lights, the city was requested by the power firm to increase the payment to 12 burning hours. This prompted the council committee on public utilities to first study which would be more beneficial for the city.

The committee chaired by Councilor Rocky Thomas Balisong recommended a six-month trial operation by Beneco to determine if there will be improvement in the maintenance vis-a-vis the increase in the maintenance cost. But the body decided to first hear the positions of the parties before it acts on the committee’s recommendations.

The Beneco, through director Benny Bomogao said their offer has gained the support of some of the barangays as shown by the manifesto of support signed by representatives of the 17 barangays of district 2 of Beneco. The city engineer’s office was requested to report on the comparative analysis of the streetlight operations for the last five years during the council meeting tomorrow.
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In nearby La Trinidad, Benguet, there is also need to have more streetlights particularly along the Halsema Highway stretch from the Baguio City boundary at km 3 up to the provincial capitol.
Lots of vehicular accidents have happened in the area particularly during heavy downpours and fog. Just recently, a second year coed of the Benguet State University died when she was hit by a passenger jeep. Almost every night from the stretch of the municipal hall down below the captol, vehicular accidents happen in the area.

More streetlights could lessen accidents and deter crime as students are also complaining that criminals wait at dark corners of town roads particularly along the main highway to commit holdups. On the part of the police, there is also need to increase their visibility along crime-prone areas like the stretch of km 4 particularly near the road to Pines Park and at Barangay Cabanao in km 6 where a lot of cell phone snatchers abound.