MATI CITY, Davao Oriental (MindaNews/27 October)—An official of the Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (DORECO) said they are implementing a month-long moratorium for electric bill collection and disconnection for totally-damaged households in Davao Oriental following the devastating twin earthquakes that rocked the province early this month.
DORECO’s Institutional Services and Development Department (ISDD) manager Mary Ann G. Santos told MindaNews in an interview that DORECO will also suspend the penalties for the billing duration of the moratorium.
The billing count covers from October 16 until November 15, she said.
In a data obtained by MindaNews from the Provincial Information Office (PIO) of Davao Oriental, totally-damaged houses in the province number 1,245 as of their October 26.
DORECO, however, clarified in a Facebook post that the moratorium only applies for houses with electric meters.
Santos said that validation on the houses qualified as totally-damaged are being assessed house-to-house by DORECO’s meter readers.
She said consumers whose houses were totally-damaged need to present a certification from their respective barangays which identifies them as among the house-owners with totally-damaged homes.
She said homes and establishments not totally-damaged are not included in the moratorium.
Last October 15, the provincial government of Davao Oriental issued a request to DORECO and all local water districts to implement a one-billing-cycle moratorium on billing and disconnection for all the consumers affected by the earthquake. (Razl EJ Teman/MindaNews)
