Recto wants brownout-free on Pacquiao-Mayweather fight

Sen. Ralph Recto at the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano clash (Photo courtesy of Sen. Grace Poe’s Facebook page)

MANILA — Tight power supply or not, Senator Ralph Recto on Wednesday urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to assure adequate power supply on May 2 to make sure that all Filipinos would be able to watch the highly-anticipated mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather .

“I think one promissory note we should be asking from the Department of Energy is that there will be adequate supply of electricity on the day of the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout,” Recto said.

Recto said any power outage anywhere will turn the DOE officials into ‘punching bags’ by people who would be deprived of watching the fight.

”Energy officials better ensure that May 2 is “National No Brownout Day”,” Recto said.

He said the executive branch should use the emergency powers it is asking and which Congress is poised to grant to prevent blackouts this summer, when electricity use is at its peak, “especially on May 2.

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“The effectiveness of the emergency powers will be tested on May 2,” Recto said.

“You have the powers, you will have hundreds of millions of pesos, you have the time, so please see to it that there will be no brownout not only on May 2 but throughout summer,” he added.

Malacanang has invoked a section in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) in asking Congress for emergency powers to contract additional capacity to avert a possible power crunch.

Section 71 of EPIRA states that “upon the determination by the President of the Philippines of an imminent shortage of the supply of electricity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity under such terms and conditions as it may approve.”

Billed as the fight with the richest purse in history, the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout is on May 2 in Las Vegas, USA.

Last weekend, Pacquiao and Mayweather confirmed through their respective social media account that they have already signed the fight contract.

Mayweather, undefeated in 47 fights, will received 60 percent while Pacquiao (57-5-3) agreed to get the 40 percent of their fight purse which reportedly is expected to reach USD250 million.