Senator warns power execs
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 07:36:00 05/15/2008
Filed Under: Electricity Production & Distribution
MANILA, Philippines—The Joint Congressional Power Commission (Powercomm) will not hesitate to cite for contempt energy officials and executives of electricity companies if they had lied at Monday’s hearing on power rates, committee chairperson Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said Wednesday.
Santiago said she had issued “urgent orders to submit information” to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) president Jesus Francisco, National Power Corp. (Napocor) president Cyril del Callar, Philippine Electric Market Corp. assistant vice president Mario Pangilinan and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) officer in charge Alejandro Barin.
“If I catch them lying under oath, those officials could be fined up to P500,000 and jailed up to six years,” she said.
Santiago said the documents, to be submitted 15 days from the receipt, would prove whether allegations of price manipulation and management abuse by Meralco and Napocor.
She said she was working with experts from the University of Philippines professors to determine who was lying.
At their hearing Monday, Powercomm members queried Meralco on “sweetheart deals” with independent power producers (IPPs) in the Lopez group, which runs Meralco, and on alleged management abuse. They also questioned the ERC for apparent laxity.
“The first order of the day is to determine the price paid to the IPPs of both Meralco and Napocor,” Santiago said.
“What Meralco and NPC pay to their respective IPPs set the reference rate for the power rates paid by consumers,” she said.
“We have to put closure on this IPP issue. Otherwise, our power rates will be high forever,” she added.
Santiago said that if she would find that Meralco intentionally favored its IPPs, it would be ground for revoking Meralco’s congressional franchise.
“It is virtually impossible that Meralco managers did not know that their decisions would result in unconscionable transfer of wealth from consumers to their own pockets,” she said. “Such alleged mismanagement is punishable.”
Santiago also said the Powercomm would have a separate hearing on allegations that Napocor was raising its prices “to create an emergency situation that will allow it to buy fuel not through competitive bidding but through negotiation.”
“The related allegation is that Napocor is dealing with fly-by-night coal suppliers,” she said. John Alliage Morales, INQUIRER.net contributor
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