National Electrification Administration (NEA) Chief Edgardo Masongsong is proposing the establishment of a national central office in Metro Manila dedicated to the member-consumer-owners (MCOs) of the electric cooperatives across the country.
Masongsong disclosed this during the inauguration ceremony to formally open the newly constructed multi-purpose covered hall of the Cotabato Electric Cooperative, Inc. (COTELCO), named the National Center of Electric Cooperative Consumers, Inc. (NCECCO) Building, at Cotelco compound, Barangay Manubuan, Matalam in Cotabato.
During the ceremony, COTELCO General Manager Godofredo Homez and Board President Alfonso Jack Sandique thanked Masongsong for the structure. They said the construction of the facility amounting to P5 million was made possible through the efforts and support of Masongsong during his term as representative of the partylist group 1-CARE in the 16th Congress.
In his message before the coop officials and employees, Masongsong expressed his happiness and appreciation to COTELCO for promoting the NCECCO by naming the new facility after it. “I am happy and I am surprised that this is also dedicated to the National Center of Electric Cooperative Consumers,” he said.
Established early this year, NCECCO serves as a movement of the electric cooperatives (ECs) and MCOs towards strategic positioning in the power industry and in pursuit of socio-political-economic-cultural-environmental development through rural electrification.
The NEA chief also said the construction of the building inspires him to pursue his other visions for the betterment of the electric cooperatives and their member-consumers, such as the establishment of a NCECCO Building in Metro Manila. “Ang lahat ng ating ginagawa ay para sa ikabubuti ng electric cooperatives at electricity consumers,” he said.
After the ceremony, Masongsong joined the 35th Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) of Cotelco at the Matalam Municipal Gym. This year’s AGMA adopted the theme “NEA, Cotelco, Member-Consumer-Owners: Working Together, Forging Change for Sustainable Rural Development thru Rural Electrification Program.”
COTELCO is categorized as AAA Mega Large EC serving Kidapawan City and 11 munipalities in Cotabato. As of December 2016, the coop has recorded 137,572 members and energized 148,626 households including commercial, public buildings and industries.