MINERVA BC NEWMAN
TOLEDO CITY, Cebu—Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI), a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power has downloaded some P10.2 million funds for its host beneficiaries under the Energy Regulation (ER 1-94) funds for 2020, with P5.9 million to Toledo City and P4.3 million directly to its host community of Barangay Bato.
According to TVI that these funds have been utilized to support Toledo City’s programs in its fight against COVID-19 and provided relief goods to over 3,200 families within the host barangay, true to its promise of advancing business and communities.
TVI said that it had recently completed the turnover of direct benefits to its host beneficiaries, helping provide timely relief to residents during the pandemic. Toledo City’s 38 barangays and over 170,000 residents will also benefit from the ER 1-94 funds through the initiatives of the city government.
“The City is very grateful for the assistance from Therma Visayas and Aboitiz Power especially on the ER 1-94 funds given to the City of Toledo. TVI is the first to extend its assistance to the city and rest assured that we will be transparent with all the funds that they have given to the city and those that we planned to do with the assistance,” Toledo City Mayor Marjorie Perales said.
Perales added that the funds were used to help provide personal protective equipment to frontline workers as well as relief goods to residents and agriculture-fishery inputs to farmers of Toledo.
“We sincerely thank Therma Visayas and Aboitiz Power for these funds. This is really a big help to our barangay especially that the pandemic happened. Through these funds we were able to provide 25 sacks of rice per household to all households in Barangay Bato benefitting over 3,200 families in the barangay,” Barangay Captain Rosalio Cereno said.
Meanwhile, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi, who was informed about the company’s recent undertaking, thanked Aboitiz Power and TVI for ensuring that the utilization of their ER 1-94 funds truly reaches the grassroots and benefit those who need assistance the most in this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
Cusi said that at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in the country, DOE had issued Department Circular No. DC2020-04-0008 to help local government units (LGUs) by providing policy guidelines on the utilization of the available ER 1-94 Funds to be used in managing the effects of pandemic in accordance with Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
“I thank Aboitiz Power and its subsidiary TVI for its assistance to the people of Toledo City and Barangay Bato. The Php 10.2 million worth of relief goods, disinfectants, Anti Covid Machine and equipment and other assistance will go a long way for their residents and its front liners who are struggling amidst this pandemic,” Cusi said in his message to Toledo mayor Perales.
Along with the contributions for Toledo City and Barangay Bato, TVI continues to support the development of the city and its host barangay through health missions and other projects identified in its Corporate Social Responsibility programs.
Therma Visayas, Inc. is the operator of the 340-megawatt Toledo Baseload Power Plant located in Brgy. Bato, Toledo City, Cebu.
