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In Catanduanes, the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, or FICELCO, has been managing a power supply crisis that pushed daily brownouts to as many as eight hours for its over 62,000 Member-Consumer-Owners earlier this year.
A combination of generator failures, unsettled subsidy obligations involving its power supplier, and a stalled competitive selection process for a new supplier left consumers on an island with no reliable timeline for relief.
In Albay, the struggles of the Albay Electric Cooperative, or ALECO, have become a flashpoint for a national debate on whether struggling cooperatives should be reformed or privatized. A P1.2 billion government rehabilitation program is currently underway, yet the specter of premature privatization continues to hang over a cooperative still finding its footing.
Last July 6, 2026, the people of Palawan did not wait for a congressional hearing or a regulatory investigation. They went outside and made themselves heard.
Member-Consumer-Owners of the Palawan Electric Cooperative gathered in front of PALECO's offices to deliver a message that no performance scorecard had managed to capture. They were not asking for the impossible. They were asking for what every Filipino household deserves: electricity that is affordable, reliable, and built to last.
It was a peaceful rally. But behind it was years of accumulated frustration.
Triple-A on Paper. Brownouts at Home.
In May 2026, PALECO achieved the highest performance rating for electric cooperatives in the country. Based on NEA's 2025 Annual Overall Performance Assessment, the cooperative was awarded an AAA distinction, scoring 97 percent. The cooperative's management celebrated. The mood in El Nido, Puerto Princesa, and Narra was considerably different.
John, a small business owner in Puerto Princesa, put it plainly. "We are paying premium rates. What we are not getting is premium service. The lights go out in the morning, come back, then go out again by afternoon. That is not Triple-A. That is triple the frustration."
According to MCO Tony Cabrestante a phrase now quietly circulating among PALECO's Member-Consumer-Owners. AAA, some consumers now say with a tired laugh, no longer stands for excellent performance. It stands for "Araw-Araw, Ara Kuryente." Every day, no electricity.
The joke draws a knowing smile. The reality behind it deserves a serious response.
Lisa, a small transient house owner in El Nido who depends on steady electricity to serve the tourists visiting one of the country's most celebrated destinations, shared her frustration quietly. "Guests are patient. I try to be patient. But after years of the same thing, patience runs thin. The lights should not be going out this often in a place like this."
What the Rating System Is Not Measuring
Nic Satur Jr., chief advocate officer of PARE, said the gap between PALECO's AAA classification and the daily experience of its consumers points to a deeper flaw in how electric cooperative performance is currently evaluated.
"Consumers are not looking at scorecards. They are looking at their electric fans, their refrigerators, their children doing homework at night. The rating system must be reformed to reflect what consumers actually experience, not just what institutions report about themselves," Satur said.
He added that questions have been raised about the credibility of a rating system where the same agency overseeing an intervention also evaluates its results. Those questions deserve transparent, public answers from NEA.
PARE has formally urged NEA to incorporate direct consumer feedback into its evaluation framework, including customer satisfaction data, complaint resolution rates, and power restoration performance during calamities and emergency situations.
"The ultimate measure of performance is a simple question every member-consumer-owner asks every morning: will the lights stay on today? Until that question has a reliable answer, a Triple-A rating is not a milestone. It is a gap that needs to be explained," Satur said.
PALECO Is Not an Isolated Case
The frustration in Palawan is real. But it is not unique. Across the country, consumers in cooperative franchise areas are living versions of the same story.
In Catanduanes, the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, or FICELCO, has been managing a power supply crisis that pushed daily brownouts to as many as eight hours for its over 62,000 Member-Consumer-Owners earlier this year. A combination of generator failures, unsettled subsidy obligations involving its power supplier, and a stalled competitive selection process for a new supplier left consumers on an island with no reliable timeline for relief.
In Albay, the struggles of the Albay Electric Cooperative, or ALECO, have become a flashpoint for a national debate on whether struggling cooperatives should be reformed or privatized. A P1.2 billion government rehabilitation program is currently underway, yet the specter of premature privatization continues to hang over a cooperative still finding its footing.
In Batangas, consumers of the Batangas Electric Cooperative, or BATELEC, have been enduring recurring outages that prompted a provincial government intervention and a public debate about private sector participation. A recent survey found that an overwhelming majority of consumers in the area experienced multiple outages per month.
In Zamboanga, the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, or ZAMCELCO, has faced its own rotational brownout episodes driven by supply and infrastructure challenges. In the Visayas, BISELCO consumers have similarly raised concerns that the service they receive does not match what they pay for every month.
"PALECO is one face of a national problem. Consumers from Catanduanes to Zamboanga are asking the same questions, enduring the same disruptions, and paying rates that do not reflect the service they actually receive," Satur said.
"This is not a cooperative-by-cooperative issue. This is a systemic failure in governance, oversight, regulation, and accountability that demands a national response."
What Consumers Are Asking For
The MCOs who gathered in front of PALECO on July 6 were not demanding the extraordinary. They were asking for the basic.
Affordable rates that reflect prudent and efficient management. Reliable service that does not interrupt livelihoods, education, and community life. Transparent governance that places Member-Consumer-Owners at the center of every major decision. And accountability from PALECO, FICELCO, ALECO, BATELEC, ZAMCELCO, BISELCO, and every cooperative in between, as well as from NEA, DOE, and ERC, for the state of the service consumers are paying for every single month.
"Consumers fund the entire system. They deserve a system that works for them, not one that works around them. That is the reform PARE is calling for. Not just in Palawan. Nationwide," Satur said.
The lights should not be going out this often. Not in Palawan. Not in Catanduanes. Not anywhere in this country.
That is not too much to ask.
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