No blanket emergency powers for Noy

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. assured the public yesterday that Congress will not give blanket emergency powers to President Aquino in the event lawmakers grant his request for extraordinary authority to deal with a possible power crisis next year.

Belmonte noted that when Malacañang submitted Aquino’s letter last week asking the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass a joint resolution on emergency powers, it was not accompanied by any draft or details of the scope of authority he was seeking.

“I’d like a more definitive statement,” Belmonte said. “The letter was handed to me without a draft resolution, and I told them to give us even just a working draft.”

“The joint resolution is just a resolution, there will have to be an appendix containing the precise actions that they have in mind,” he said.

Malacañang did give a draft later and it is being studied by the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC). The Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) essentially prohibits the government from putting up additional generating capacity.

Section 71 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.”

Belmonte said the JCPC has held at least three meetings to discuss the matter, including whether Aquino really needs emergency powers, the actual extent of the expected power shortage, as well as measures to deal with the crisis that is not going to be expensive for the taxpayers.

He said Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, who has been pressuring lawmakers to pass the resolution and allow the government to lease expensive power barges, will be summoned by the JCPC.

The Speaker also said in the event Congress grants President Aquino’s request, it would be only for a limited duration.

“We will have some power shortages but in short periods within three months, and after that, everything will be back on stream,” he said.

Kabataan partylist Rep. Terry Ridon has opposed the granting of emergency powers, citing Aquino’s “tyrannical tendencies.”

“We should remember how the President acted like he’s the law with regard to the Disbursement Acceleration Program fiasco. I believe there are measures that can be done to address the energy issue without giving Aquino emergency powers,” Ridon said.

He warned that authorizing the President to enter into negotiated power deals is one of the main reasons why electricity rates in the Philippines are higher than neighboring countries.

The lawmaker also expressed fears that granting President Aquino emergency powers to raise generation capacity will give him the authority to waive the required technical, financial and environmental requirements of generation companies.

“The President’s rushed tone seems to imply that he wants such clearances, licenses and permits waived,” he said. “While there is indeed a huge issue on power supply that the government needs to address, we need to be wary of moves that would essentially allow generating companies to build and operate power plants without complying with certain technical, financial and most especially environmental standards.”

Enough funds to address shortage

The government has more than enough funds available to cover the estimated P6 billion needed to address the expected power shortage in summer next year through the grant of emergency powers to the President.

Sen. Ralph Recto pointed out that the royalties that the government receives from the Malapaya natural gas exploration project in Palawan and other energy projects would amount to some P180 billion by the end of the year.

It has been reported that the additional generation capacity sought by Aquino through emergency powers would run for two years and would entail a cost of P6 billion.

Recto said that the government has an “off-budget special fund” pooled from the royalties and the rentals, production share on service contracts and similar payments on the exploration, development and exploitation of energy resources as provided for under Presidential Decree 910.

These include, for this year, P28.3 billion from the Malampaya royalties, P1.6 billion from coal production, P1.1 billion from oil and P1.6 billion from geothermal projects, for a total of P31.6 billion.

“If you read the 2015 budget documents, it says there that there is a balance of P148.8 billion as of December 2013 in government shares from Malampaya and other energy development projects,” Recto said. “If you add the remittances for 2014, which is projected at P31.6 billion, and deduct about P757 million in withdrawals this year, then the end-year balance is about P179.7 billion.”

Recto cited as his source the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, which accompanies the proposed national budget submitted to Congress by Malacañang every year.

“Theoretically, the government can fully subsidize the estimated P6-billion cost of contracting 600 megawatts of electricity next year in order to bridge supply gaps which are expected to worsen during the summer months when electricity use spikes,” Recto said.

Recto noted that the P6 billion sought by the executive branch to address the power shortage is roughly equivalent to what the government spends in a month for the Conditional Cash Transfer program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and its payroll and pension expenses in three days.

The Senate committee on energy headed by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III will go over the request of the President for a joint resolution of Congress granting him the authority to contract additional generating capacity next week.

Petilla told the senators earlier this week that the resolution should be approved before the end of the month.

However, both Senate President Franklin Drilon and Osmeña have shot down the possibility of approving the joint resolution this month, given the fact that Congress will adjourn its sessions on Friday next week for a two-week break. – With Marvin Sy