“So, there you are”, was how Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago’s reaction upon seeing the pork barrel queen, Janet Lim Napoles during the latter’s appearance at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing last Thursday noon. Then came the calmness of Napoles by simply answering “I invoke my right against self-incrimination” and the like. The Napoles reaction turned out to be the calm-before-the-storm for us as Yolanda came in last Friday noon whipping the highest typhoon signal no. 4 here in the Visayas. We were spared by the wrath of Yolanda. But here comes her aftershock: a total brownout for the entire province starting last Friday at 7 o’clock in the morning until this writing.

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This column therefore was definitely done while Yolanda’s aftershock was going on although she may have left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) already. We were just reminded of writing a column more than a decade ago, twice a week every week, in another weekly wherein we have to deliver the hard copy – meaning, the encoded, double-spaced long bond paper of our column to the editorial office. Later, as our communications advanced, we will already send by fax our column. Now it seems that the hard copy and the fax are already things of the past. But now, as the brownout continue, it seems that we are going back to the hard copy but it seems that a backup of another power source in the editorial office of this paper and our law office prevented us from going into the Jurassic writing once again.

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The Bohol Light Co. And the two Bohol Electric Cooperative (BOHECO) here are now dependent upon one National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) which caters power supply from the Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte. So, if the Tongonan electric source stops, the entire province of Bohol is in a total blackout. In Tagbilaran City, the operation of our water supply by the sister company of Bohol Light, the Bohol Water Utilities, Inc. (BWUI) is highly dependent on electricity. Just like yesterday, Bohol Light was already prepared to be energized, but being a mere power distributor, it is dependent upon NGCP which in turn relies upon the Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte. The late Erico B. Aumentado had already this in mind in having a single power source. That is why he initiated the development of the Cantakoy mini-hydro plant in the second district years before he died. It was a back-up plan prepared by the late Aumentado in solving the power situation in Bohol. His anticipation also died with him. We hope that Cong. Aris Aumentado will take where his father left.

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So pardon us for being laconic in today’s column as we continued to suffer the aftershock of Yolanda. The brownout still continued as of 5 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Many were asking after Oct. 15 whether when would be the earthquake would hit Bohol again? The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it would possibly be at least 100 year from now. A question was also asked here after last Friday’s typhoon, when would the electricity be restored? We hope the Phivolcs answer will not be applicable to this one. God forbid.

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POSTSCRIPT: Our deepest condolence to the bereaved family of the late Cirilo Esperanza Jr. who died last Tuesday in Cebu City after an operation. In the bar review for the 1997 bar examination, he joined us at the San Beda Bar Review in Manila together with Attys. Tito Apura, Benjie Arcamo and his wife, Lindecita Cabaron-Arcamo. He retired as a municipal election officer of the Commission on Election. His remains now lie in state at his residence in Lindaville Subdivision Phase I, this city.