Tampinco reinstated as Napocor president

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras has decided to retain National Power Corp. (Napocor) president Froilan Tampinco to ensure the continuous flow of operations and provision of service at the state-run power generation firm.

Almendras said Tampinco’s reinstatement has the blessings of President Aquino.

“The President said he wanted me to make sure that there is enough energy, whether it is electricity or fuel, and that the pricing is at its best optimal level – meaning not too high or not too low but fair enough to encourage investments and at the same time not create too much social upheaval. And for us to put together a really good plan because we are at a crossroads of it all, this is basically where the direction is going to be,” he pointed out.

Almendras said President Aquino wants to keep competent people in the organization.

“He (Tampinco) tendered his resignation to me a few times, and since I was not accepting it, he gave it to my staff. We have it on record, so I have to reply in 15 days. At any rate, we are saying that we want to keep stability for the time being,” Almendras said.

“The reason for that is that I was very much aware that we in the energy sector are an ‘on-going concern’ unlike in the other agencies wherein if you do something like that you only stop the flow of paper. In our case it may mean stopping the flow of energy which is not the most ideal thing,” he added.

He also explained that as a matter of policy, he was intent to protect employees who are career officials.

“We need to take care of all the civil servants and Career Executive Service Officers (CESOs). We want to protect them, that is objective No. 1 on my part,” he said.

Tampinco, a fourth-rank CESO holder, has been Napocor president since October 2008.

“He has instituted several reforms in the organization since its inception until now when it ceased to have any business in the main power generation grids, as mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA,” Napocor spokesperson Dennis S. Gana said.