Thursday, October 26, 2006

A UNIQUE ELECTRICAL LINK

Some two months ago, Virgie, a resident of sitio Punta, the fishing village that is barely two hundred meters away from our backyard beside the beach, came asking for the lion tamer with an unusual request. Their place which consist of no less than twenty houses (the lion estimates there now lives no less than a hundred souls there) that mushroomed like a “kabute” because of the burgeoning squid gathering business had been without electric lights for a week already, and it seems having their makeshift shacks lighted was not getting anywhere. A town-mate who is employed at the electric cooperative as a supervisor explained that electrical materials for its rehabilitation were needed but that it will require the written approval of the company’s Resident Manager since the cost is substantial. And he added: “I suggest you approach Nang Lorma (the lion tamer.). Perhaps she can help. All she had to do is call Engr. Eugene Tan over the phone and narrate to him your problem.”

The aging lion could only amusedly shake his head in silence. Here is a problem that is best solved by persons of authority and influence; like the town mayor whose duty it is to attend to the welfare of his constituents; or the Electric Cooperative’s director (there is one director who is elected representing three towns each to oversee problems peculiar to the town residents power needs), or the employees themselves who, by their sworn duties as personnel of the electric company, are bound by their vocation to serve their customers. But to quote Luis, the employee who made the suggestion, “the problem may need the charm of the lion tamer to have it fixed!”

Understandably, the suggestion was sincere for he and the lion tamer were contemporaries they being almost of the same age and also because based on similar wishes made by the lion tamer as will be explained later, her requests for assistance have all been favorably acted upon by the cooperative’s Resident Manager. .

What the townsfolk do not know is the underlying reason why the Resident Manager is wholly accommodating to our requests; and so let the aging lion tell you this story, direct from the lion’s now almost toothless mouth, so to speak.

Our relationship with BOHECO II, the electric cooperative that provides our power needs, did not start on the right foot. For six whole months counting from our arrival in this sleepy hometown, our monthly electric bills averaged no more than P200. But on the seventh month our bill skyrocketed to no less than P2,400 or a whooping 100% increase when compared with our six months total bill of only P1,200 added all together.

Naturally, we registered a written complaint but instead of seriously analyzing the problem, their written reply neither admitted nor fully explained our woes and instead suggested that we transfer the meter outside of our residence, the cost of which should be shouldered by us. In short, they hedged in their reply, which only infuriated the aging lion. And as the response did not placate his sentiments, the aging lion called his daughter long distance at the metropolis and asked where he can formally file the appropriate complaint. He was given the email and mailing addresses of the Energy Regulatory Commission both at the main office and at their Regional office in Cebu City and thereafter proceeded to write them stirring letters complete with supporting documents that elicited a two-pronged reaction from the two agencies. What the electric cooperative did not know was that the cat was an auditor by profession and thus is competent to file complaints that are fully supportable by hard evidence.

The main office thus ordered the Cooperative to correct the mistake with a stirring admonition while the Regional Office, sensing that the case is unique and therefore has the potential of putting his office into the limelight, wrote the aging lion to file a formal complaint, it being a precedent setting case.

The civil case initially looked like a fight between two rampaging bulls locked by the horns. But no sooner, the Cooperative’s manager capitulated because the aging lion’s complaint was getting in the way of their being rated from Class “D” to Class “A” and thus puts them in danger of being disqualified from being selected as Outstanding Electric Cooperative during the year in the entire archipelago. Twice, the Resident Manager and his Finance Manager came to the lion’s den and after admitting their error, pleaded that the cat living inside it withdraw the case, the resolution of which they suggest may be settled to the aging lion’s satisfaction. .The two visitors were surprised when the aging lion simply said: “Now that you’ve admitted your error, I suggest you now return to your office and consider the case forgotten. I’m sending an email to the Bureau Director of the ERC in Cebu City withdrawing my complaint.”

The Resident Manager was profuse in his thanks and talking out aloud wondered how he can return that rare act of generosity saying he hopes there is a chance that he will be given the opportunity to repay it someday. And to abbreviate a rather long story, what started out as an adversarial encounter ended up on a friendly atmosphere that became a strong connection between the aging lion and the Resident Manager of the electric company.

Then after about a year later, the need to ask for help came. When the lion tamer thought of having her neighbors at our backyard lighted with electrical power, the Resident Manager saw to it that it was done promptly (See article “Let There Be Light). When the tenant of a neighbor who resides in neighboring Candijay town asked for help that electrical connection in his house be connected since the linemen of the place were dilly-dallying for one reason or another, the lion tamer initiated contact and his house was thereafter lighted. When two of her cousins complained of abnormal electrical consumptions which company red tape failed to elicit prompt results, she again relayed these problems to the Resident Manager and had the electric meters replaced to their complete satisfaction. All these she did with the aging lion hardly intervening; he surmised she can well handle the problems as her pet nonchalantly yawned obviously disinterested ion what she is doing for her townmates.

Let’s now get back at the request of the residents of sitio Punta.

The problem, it turned out, was caused by the abnormal growth of the number of residents in the place, where the electrical needs were solved by the technicians by employing a technique called “octopus connections”. The temporary nature of the electrical connections sometimes cause current to trip because of the sudden surge of power and therefore was the main reason why they were powerless for more than a week. .What was required therefore was to replace the posts and change the wirings with higher tensile strength capabilities so that electrical load may be compensated. This the lion tamer relayed to the Manager and power in the place was restored after two days counting from the time she made the call.

But upgrading took sometime. The existing posts needed replacement and so three sturdy cement posts were provided as replacements.. Wires of higher grade capabilities replaced the previously-installed connections as these were obviously of inferior grades. And the needed personnel required to do the job were scheduled as they already have their own itineraries during the month and consequently the planned rehabilitation had to wait. More importantly, budgetary constraints at the Cooperative also required fund scheduling.

Thus it was that on October 25th, on the 4th month birth anniversary of the aging lion’s youngest grandson, two female residents of Sitio Punta went to the lion’s den through its backdoor saying that the required upgrading of their electrical connections has already been put in place, thanks to the lion tamer’s intercession. The aging lion nodded in silent acknowledgement without a word coming out from his lips. And before they left, one said: “Pwede bang mangayo kamunggay?” (May we ask for malunggay?!) and received from the aging lion this epic and amusing reply: “Go right ahead and pluck some, it is for free, it’s Promo offer from the lion tamer who is at this time still in the metropolis!”

Which also made the lion tamer remark upon being informed through the cell phone of what has just transpired: “Di pwede na akong manalong baranggay kagawad sa susunod na eleksyon?!”(So I can now win the post of “baranggay councilwoman” in the coming elections?!, she teasingly said over text message.

The aging lion of course knows is only kidding- she is not even listed in the town’s registry of the controversial government agency we all call the COMELEC!