Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan of the Bicol Saro party-list group has reminded the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) that it should exercise “extraordinary diligence” as the power distributor of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Meralco earlier admitted that a “procedural lapse” by one of its personnel led to yet another power outage at the NAIA Terminal 3 last Friday.
Yamsuan said that on top of Meralco’s obligations under the contract with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to provide electricity to NAIA, the power distribution firm has a greater responsibility to the people it serves because it is a public utility.
“Exercising extreme caution or extraordinary diligence should not be forgotten by Meralco when it comes to providing its services to the public,” Yamsuan said.
Meralco apologized to the public over the weekend after it admitted that a personnel of Meralco Energy Inc. (MServ) accidentally caused the 37-minute power outage at NAIA 3 last June 9.
MServ, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco, was testing NAIA 3’s electrical facilities when one of its employees accidentally left grounding conductors attached to an electrical equipment, which triggered the outage that started at 12:50 PM and lasted until 1:29 PM
Seven flights were delayed due to the power interruption, but none was canceled.
Yamsuan said that an apology may not be enough to get Meralco off the hook because if it is proven that the “procedural lapse” was due to Meralco’s negligence or failure to exercise extraordinary diligence, it could be held liable under the law.
Under the provisions of the New Civil Code, an establishment or enterprise is held responsible for damages caused by their employees “on the occasion of their functions.”
“We have been pounding at MIAA officials and blaming them for the power outages at the airport during the congressional hearings held on this issue. Now that Meralco is at fault, is an apology enough?” Yamsuan said.
The House Committee on Transportation chaired by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop earlier held several hearings on the power outages that occurred at the entire NAIA last January 1 and at the NAIA Terminal 3 on May 1 of this year. Yamsuan is a member of the committee.
The January 1 power outage shut down the country’s airspace, which left around 65,000 passengers stranded and over 300 flights grounded. The May 1 power interruption affected more than 9,000 passengers.
Yamsuan said the latest power outage at NAIA-3 may not have been as severe as the previous incidents, but it has undoubtedly tarnished anew the country’s image before the international community.
The Bicol Saro lawmaker recalled that during one of the hearings, APEC Partylist Rep. Sergio Dagooc had questioned why Meralco service personnel were not on standby at NAIA to man the power distributor’s substations at the airport and ensure that the supply of electric power remains uninterrupted.
Meralco reportedly bills the MIAA about P40 million a month for providing electricity to the country’s premier international gateway. Dagooc pointed out that being a big consumer, MIAA deserves to be provided with value-added services by Meralco.
“I agree with our esteemed colleague, Congressman Dagooc that, MIAA should review its agreement with Meralco to ensure that Meralco delivers its services with utmost efficiency,” Yamsuan said.