Binay Rallies Local Officials In Fight Against Illegal Recruitment

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay has urged local government officials to help the national government fight illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

Binay, concurrent chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and chairman of the Presidential Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment, noted that local officials are the first to know if there are cases of illegal recruitment and human trafficking in their area.

"Local government officials know their surroundings better. So I'm asking their support to fight this menace especially in the provinces,” he said in a statement.

Binay had also urged the public to report to authorities suspected transit homes of illegal recruitment and human trafficking syndicates.

“If you notice that some strangers are renting out an empty house in your neighborhood and filling it up with women, then please get in touch with us. We need the public’s help and cooperation to fight human trafficking,” Binay said.

On the other hand, the Vice President asked those who are planning to work abroad to inquire with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) first to make sure that the jobs are legitimate.

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Brownout in Metro Manila Looms

Saying the Luzon power is experiencing “deficiency” in supply, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Friday warned its customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces of possible rotating brownouts in the coming days.

Dina Lomotan, Meralco’s corporate communications manager, said the company has received an advisory from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) that it has raised the “yellow alert” for the grid.

The NGCP spokesperson, Cynthia Alabanza, said the Luzon grid went on yellow alert on Thursday. “This means that while power plants in the Luzon grid can still meet the demand of consumers, our (power) reserve is quite thin,” Alabanza explained.

She said the reserve had hit 300 megawatts, half of the ideal 647 megawatts.

The Power Situation Outlook posted on the NGCP’s website on Friday left blank the system capacity, system peak and reserve levels for the Luzon grid.

Figures on the website are usually updated daily.

Lomotan said it would be best for Meralco customers to start conserving electricity at home or at commercial establishments.

“We should still save electricity since we’re on yellow alert. We have a low reserve. Hopefully no power plant will go offline, or else the reserve will get wiped out,” she said.

Meralco had apparently scheduled brownouts in Cavite (Kawit, Imus) and Metro Manila (Caloocan, Las Piñas, Pasig, Tondo, Balintawak, Kamuning, Katipunan) from 10 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. on today.

The morning brownouts did not push through, because the demand was low.

“There was a reduction in system demand probably because we made an advisory on air,” she said.

Power demand is usually low during Saturdays, Lomotan said.

The Department of Energy (DoE) said the yellow alert for the Luzon grid came as a result of the shutdown of three plants, the Calaca coal-fired power plant and the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo natural gas-fired power plants.

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