TACLOBAN CITY- Linemen from the Leyte II Electric Cooperative (Leyeco II) were recognized in appreciation of their service not only to the cooperative but among its member-consumers.
The giving of recognition to the 70 linemen of Leyeco II was initiated by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Philippine Association of Rural Electric Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (Philreca).
The program was done through online last Monday (August 3) given the current situation due to the pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).
Engr. Fernan Paul Tan, general manager of Leyeco II, said that the program recognizes the contribution of all line workers in fulfilling the sector’s advocacy of improving the quality of life of its member-consumer-owners by providing sustainable development thru rural electrification.
“The electric cooperative are striving to give importance to the services of linemen. They are the foundation upon which their pride and honor are built on,” he said.
NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong, in the same program, also highlighted the importance of the services that the linemen are providing to their agency in line of its total electrification program.
Coinciding with the NEA’s celebration of the National Electrification Awareness Month, the Linemen Appreciation Day celebration is one of the most important activities of NEA.
Masongsong thanked all the line workers for their day-to-day support to the sector, and for their perseverance to do their mandate despite the criticisms they are receiving whenever there are brownouts, even if they are not responsible for it.
Atty. Janeene Depay-Colingan, executive director and general manager of Philreca, expressed her gratitude for the years and decades of service of the line workers to the member-consumer-owners.
Without the linemen’s contributions and sacrifices, the sector would not be able to achieve its mission, she said.
On the side of the linemen, Alex Baldisco, president of the United Linemen’s Association of the Philippines (ULAP) thanked Philreca, NEA, and the Once EC-MCO Movement for appreciating their contributions.
He advised his fellow linemen to become better at what they do, to stay safe, and never to stop dreaming, improving, and aiming for more.
Meanwhile, Jaysob Wayet, Philippine Electric Cooperatives Association of Safety and Environmental Officers (Pecaseo) president, said that the works of the linemen is one of the most risky in the whole world.
“It is not a joke to be a lineman as their work is not easy. Every time they go to work, they put their life in danger,” he said.
Under the scorching heat of the sun, under the rain, or even late at night, the linemen are ever ready to serve the member-consumer-owners, Wayet added.
The party-lists Philreca, APEC, Ako Padayon and RECOBODA have filed a bill in Congress to officially recognize the first Monday of August as the Linemen Appreciation Day.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
