TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. has signed Republic Act No. 12303 granting a 25-year franchise to Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) on September 12, 2025. With this positive news, BENECO reaffirms its commitment to strengthen rural electrification and improve reliable power services in Baguio City and the thirteen municipalities of Benguet, namely: Atok, Bakun, Bokod, Buguias, Itogon, Kabayan, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay.

The franchise of BENECO was sponsored by Baguio City Representative Mark O. Go through House Bill No. 6145 on November 21, 2022 followed by Benguet Representative Eric G. Yap who filed House Bill No. 9402 on October 11, 2023. House Bill No. 10483, the consolidated bill to grant a legislative franchise to BENECO, received 202 favorable votes from the House of Representatives last August 2024 and 21 favorable votes from the Senate last June 9, 2025.

Incidentally, Republic Act No. 6038 or the law that decreed the creation of electric cooperatives to attain total electrification in the country was signed into law by President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. on July 28, 1969.