ZAMBOANGA CITY – Mayor John Dalipe on Friday, February 7, clarified that the city government under his administration has no overdue accounts with the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZAMCELCO) that would warrant the disconnection of power supply at City Hall.
The mayor explained that the issue stemmed from the expiration of a 90-day lease contract for the use of two ZAMCELCO transformers that provided temporary electric service to City Hall. This statement came a day after ZAMCELCO disconnected the power supply, disrupting government transactions.
City Administrator Wendel Sotto condemned the power disconnection, calling it “very malicious” as it disregarded the city government’s request for a contract extension. He noted that City Hall is a vital institution where residents conduct daily transactions. Furthermore, Sotto revealed that no prior notice of disconnection was served by ZAMCELCO.
According to city records, ZAMCELCO sent a letter on January 9, 2025, informing the city of the lease contract’s expiration on January 31, 2025. The City Engineer’s Office (CEO) received this notice on January 14. Although ZAMCELCO did not immediately pull out the transformers on January 31, the CEO, on February 4, wrote a formal request for an extension, stating that the city-purchased transformers were expected to arrive within two weeks. Sotto also texted ZAMCELCO Chief Management Officer Atty. Rommel Agan on the same day to inform him of the expected delivery and request a delay in the pullout.
Despite these communications, power was disconnected on Thursday morning. Sotto disclosed that Atty. Agan later messaged him, saying the decision was beyond his control and was made by ZAMCELCO’s top management. However, power was unexpectedly restored by Thursday afternoon without any request or negotiation from the city government.
The incident occurred just days after Congress, through the initiative of Majority Leader and District II Representative Mannix Dalipe, declared the ZAMCELCO-Crown Investment Management contract as ‘Void Ab Initio.’ While Mayor Dalipe and Sotto refrained from linking the two events, the timing raised speculation.
The city government anticipates the delivery of three new transformers within the month, following procurement delays. Each transformer has a 167KVA capacity and costs P900,000. Once installed, these will ensure uninterrupted power supply to City Hall and prevent similar issues in the future.
