The chief of staff of 1st District Rep. Edgar Chatto revealed in a radio interview that the congressman has no plans of running for governor of Bohol in the next elections in 2025.

Lawyer Abeleon Damalerio, Chatto’s chief of staff, made the statement during the radio interview over Newsmakers ug Uban Pa on July 1, 2022 hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Dave Albarado.

Host Araneta-Batoy pitched the question about the alleged plans of the congressman to run as governor of the province.

This is an offshoot of statements coming from observers that Chatto is primed to launch his bid for governor.

Chatto was Bohol’s governor from 2010 to 2019.

He faced a myriad of challenges during his tenure as Bohol’s local chief executive particularly the 2013 7.2-magnitude earthquake and the incursion of 11 Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists into Bohol at the height of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit meetings in Panglao in 2017. The incident led to the killing of all 11 bandits.

After his term as governor ended, Chatto ran for a congressional seat in 2019 and won a 2nd term via a convincing victory in the May 2019 polls.

“Let me put this on air and make it public… si Cong. Edgar Chatto nagpasalamat sa kahigayunan nga midaog siya sa iyang 2nd term karon as Congessman, apan wala sya’y plano nga mulansar ug governor sa sunod eleksyon,” he said.

Damalerio’s statement effectively doused cold water on the possibility of Chatto changing political course in order to target the top seat at the Capitol, instead of gunning for a 3rd and final term in Congress in 2025.

“Walay plano, walay discussion or something nga mulansar ug balik pagka governor si Cong. Chatto. Daghan pa syang e-pursue, nga national agenda isip atong magbabalaod sa ubos balay balaoranan,” Damalerio quipped.

Still, Damalerio is thankful to Boholanos who continue to give their vote of confidence to Chatto considering what the congressman had achieved as governor for 9 years.

THE POWER SITUATION

In the course of the interview, Damalerio managed to answer and explain things about Bohol’s power situation and the status of the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group (BEDAG).

The BEDAG is a consultative body composed of the government sector, the distribution utilities, business sector and other stakeholders with a primary mission of finding a framework to solve the energy crisis in the province.

As of the moment, Bohol is heavily reliant on geothermal power coming from Leyte. The problem with the set-up is each time the power coming from Leyte gets disrupted, the province plunges into darkness for several weeks if not months just like what happened in the aftermath of typhoon Odette and when typhoon Agaton hit Baybay, Leyte.

BEDAG was started during the time of Chatto as governor of Bohol. The idea is to have an advisory group to solve the power problems which surfaced during the 2013 earthquake, Damalerio explained.

“The essence of BEDAG is this: sa unang panahon, kaning atong mga DUs (distribution utilities) tulo man kini sila sa Bohol – Bohol Light, BOHECO 1 [Bohol Electric Cooperative], ug BOHECO 2 – sila lang ang maghimo sa ilang mga power planning, forecasting, competitive selection process, para mag bidding kintahay sila sa kinsay mo supply ug kuryente. Walay labot ang provincial government or ang atong local government unit ani nga kalihukan. Pero tungod sa BEDAG,  nakita ni then Gov. [now] Cong. Chatto ang labihang kapait nga experience nato after sa Yolanda, after sa atong linog, ug ubang higayon nga ga-earthquake didto sa Leyte nga unsa ka crucial ang power forecasting and planning sa atong lalawigan. Tungod sa BEDAG sa iyang [Chatto] nga initiative nahimo kining advisory group nga ang gobyerno, represented by our governor and other officials, ang pribadong sektor, atong mga private sector representatives, ug ang distribution utilities, naghimo ug usa ka organization apil ang Department of Energy aron muapil ug discussion. So naay participation ang mga katawhan pinaagi sa ilang piniling opisyal ug giunsa pagbidding, ug kinsa ang kauban sa bidding, and then more importantly nahimo ang 1 Bohol Power (1BP),” Damalerio said in the interview.

He added that the 1BP is the organization comprising the 3 DUs, where they combined all of their power demand, which resulted to a more effective strategy to negotiate for a better power rate.

As a result of the work that began during the time of Chatto, Bohol is about to have another power connection coming from Cebu which can provide electricity to the island province in case power from Leyte gets disrupted. The 2nd line built by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is expected to be completed by next year.

Furthermore, the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is expected to complete its diesel power plant in Imelda, Ubay, providing stable power to Bohol in case Cebu and Leyte are unable to deliver power. The power plant is expected to be completed by 2024, according to reports.

Damalerio stressed that the plans that were hatched during Chatto’s time are now being enjoyed by the succeeding administrations.

FUTURE OF BEDAG

Damalerio said that members of BEDAG aired their sentiment saying there is a need to continue with the power advisory group.

“Incidentally… last week, sa dihang ga preside si former Gov. Art Yap sa meeting sa BEDAG, pag join nako because of a very tight schedule ni Gov. Art Yap, akoy gipatiwas ug preside. So I had an opportunity, although I was attending on behalf of Cong. Chatto, it was also the same question ang gipangtubag sa taga Energy Development Corporation, as well as kadtong mga managers nato sa different distribution utilities, they were very supportive and thankful nga namugna ang BEDAG kay usa ang bunga ana ang pagaggregate sa power. When I asked the representative of EDC sa pagpreside nako sa meeting, ako silang gipamgutana kon wala pa ni nagbunga nag aggregate kon gitapo ang demand sa tulo ka distribution utilities, apil kaha mo [EDC] sa bidding kining maong 1 Bohol Power? Para nila dili wise economically, nga maglain ug bidding ang Bohol Light, lain pud ang bidding sa BOHECO 1 nga dili dako ang demand.

Dili man wise, dili economically feasible, sa usa ka kompanya nga mugama ug power plant unya gamay ra ang demand,” Damalerio explained.

They are one in saying, Damalerio revealed, to continue with the BEDAG as it provides an avenue for other sectors to have a voice in a situation which, for all intents and purposes, the sole domain of DUs, which is to procure power and satisfy the demand for power.