Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, on behalf of Rep. Fredrick P. Deleon Guerrero, who is on medical leave, offered to add a new section to Senate Bill 17-23 which seeks to grant CUC customers a 21-day grace period after receiving their bills.
“CUC shall not disconnect services to a house if a terminally ill patient is residing, and CUC should help the head of the household with a payment plan affordable to the family or help refer the case to Karidat or other Social Service Providers,” the amendment reads.
Former Sen. Herman R. Deleon Guerrero said the vice speaker agreed to endorse the proposed amendment in the absence of his son who is still recuperating in Manila after undergoing a series of brain surgeries to correct his trigeminal neuralgia.
He said some families on island with terminally ill patients are asking for more time to settle their utility bills amid the CNMI’s lingering economic crisis.
“We want to make sure that CUC does not disconnect houses where there are terminally ill patients. What we want is for CUC to help the head of the household to come up with an affordable payment plan,” he told the Variety and noted that the bill would also benefit residents on Rota and Tinian who may be in the same situation.
S.B. 17-23, which remains pending in the Senate, is designed to give residential customers, particularly those getting energy assistance from the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, more time to settle their utility bills.
Sen. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, sponsored the bill.
