Cement company in Surigao may shut down due to unpaid electric bills

A Filipino-owned cement company in Surigao City may end its operations this week due to millions of pesos in unpaid power bills, a Mindanao news site reported last week.

Department managers at the Pacific Cement Company had warned of a shutdown in operations as early as last April 24, MindaNews said.

The report quoted Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative (SURNECO) general manager Engineer Narciso Caliao Jr. as saying PACEMCO has unsettled accounts of some P25 million.

Caliao added the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines already asked SURNECO to disconnect the power supply to the cement plant.

MindaNews noted PACEMCO is the only remaining Filipino-owned and controlled cement company, having started commercial operations in 1967.

PACEMCO presently produces 500,000 to 700,000 bags of cement per month.

The MindaNews report quoted union president Edwin Batac as saying the financially troubled PACEMCO has at least 400 regular workers.

In January 2012, workers held a protest inside the cement plant because of alleged delays in wages, bonuses and other benefits.

Batac also said the company has two power generators but only one is working. He added using generators alone would be more expensive. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News