Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill seeking to declare the first Monday of August as National Lineworker Appreciation Day.
“Panahon na para kilalanin at bigyang parangal ang ating mga lineworkers. Nakakalungkot na sa kabila ng paghahatid nila sa atin ng liwanag, nakakubli sa dilim ang kanilang kabayanihan,” Hontiveros said as she filed Senate Bill No. 2451.
“Kulang pa ang isang araw sa isang taon para bigyang parangal ang 24/7 nilang pagharap sa peligro sa kanilang trabaho.”
“Sa totoo lang, kulang pa ang isang araw sa isang taon para bigyang parangal ang 24/7 nilang pagharap sa peligro sa kanilang trabaho,” the veteran legislator stressed.
The seasoned lawmaker added that this is part of the National Electrification Awareness Month celebrated every August by virtue of Proclamation No. 1743 which gives recognition to the contribution of the electrification program in nation building.
The lady senator said that the proposed law intends to confer timely and most fitting recognition of the critical role lineworkers play in ensuring the continuous delivery of power supply and restoring or rehabilitating devastated power distribution systems during calamities.
The measure mandates the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to coordinate with all stakeholders in the power industry, including consumers, in conducting lecture sessions, seminars, and other training programs to highlight the significance of the work done by lineworkers.
Electrical lineworkers install, remove, maintain, and repair high and low-voltage distribution lines and associated equipment and facilities. They are, in many ways, the backbone of the electric industry.
“Hindi pa uso ang ‘bayanihan’ sa COVID response ay may ganitong kultura na ng kooperasyon sa lineworkers.”
“They are the backbone of the electric industry. Sa panahon ng bagyo at iba pang kalamidad, ang mga lineworkers ng ibat-ibang electric cooperatives sa buong bansa, sa pamamagitan ng Task Force Kapatid, ay nagdadamayan para sa mabilis na pagbabalik ng mga nasirang linya. Hindi pa uso ang ‘bayanihan’ sa COVID response ay may ganitong kultura na ng kooperasyon sa lineworkers,” she stressed.
Lineworkers are considered most essential among the estimated 37,000 workforce (2015) in the distribution and transmission sectors of the power industry.
They are employed in 121 electric cooperatives, a dozen private distribution utilities all over the country, and the transmission lines operated and maintained by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
Hontiveros explained that aside from maintaining public safety, line workers are often on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to power outages and other emergencies, and are thus essential to ensuring that Filipino communities enjoy access to efficient, reliable, and continuous electrical service.
“Buhay ang araw-araw na itinataya ng lineworkers para masiguradong maliwanag at komportable tayo sa ating mga bahay. Dapat lang na masuklian ito ng katumbas na pagkilala at pagpapahalaga,” she concluded.
