President Benigno Simeon Aquino III confirmed through Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda that he did not accept Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla’s resignation.
According to the President of the Philippines, Pres. PNoy, Secretary Jericho Petilla has done much in the aftermath of super typhoon “Yolanda.” According to the Palace, Pres. Aquino met with Petilla on December 26 after the latter said he would quit his post for failing to restore power to all towns affected by Yolanda.
Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda was quoted as saying:
“The President did not accept the resignation, cognizant of the fact that according to original estimates, it would take 3-6 months to restore power in town centers, considering the extent of the damage caused by super typhoon Yolanda: the Luzon-Visayas connection was down, the major geothermal plant in Leyte was also down; and generation, transmission and distribution lines were down,” Lacierda said.
“In the face of these challenges, the accomplishments of Secretary Petilla speaks for itself,” he added.
The Presidential Spokesman noted that from his original target of six months, Petilla was able to restore power in roughly 40 days. Sec. Petilla was able to energize 317 out of 320 affected towns, leaving 0.93% still to accomplish.
According to the Palace spokesman, the President is rejecting Secretary Petilla’s offer to resign, reiterated that he has no intention of losing the services of an honorable public servant.
Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla earlier promised he would resign if he fails to energize the Yolanda-struck towns by December 25, 2013.
Here’s the official statement of the Palace on Rejecting Sec. Petilla’s Resignation:
Statement: The Presidential Spokesperson on the retention of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla
This afternoon President Benigno S. Aquino III met Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, who offered his resignation. The President did not accept the resignation, cognizant of the fact that according to original estimates, it would take three to six months to restore power in town centers, considering the extent of the damage caused by Supertyphoon Yolanda: the Luzon-Visayas connection was down, the major geothermal plant in Leyte was also down; and generation, transmission, and distribution lines were down.
In the face of these challenges, the accomplishments of Secretary Petilla speaks for itself:
First, from his original target of six months he was able to restore power in roughly 40 days.
Second, within that period, Secretary Petilla was able to energize 317 out of 320 affected towns, leaving 0.93% still to accomplish.
By any measure this is excellent performance. The President noted that foreign observers who have seen work being done in the Visayas, and in comparison to disasters of lesser magnitude in other countries, pointed out that repair and rehabilitation of energy infrastructure was done faster.
For all these reasons, the President, in rejecting Secretary Petilla’s offer to resign, reiterated that he has no intention of losing the services of an honorable public servant.
