Power law revisions to take 10 years

Outgoing Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said yesterday it would be very difficult to re-open the Electric Industry Act for possible amendments.

He also said it could take lawmakers another 10 years to come up with an improved version of the new law.

Enrile, who had strongly opposed the ratification of the measure, belittled the President’s assurance of improvements, saying the interest involved is "too entrenched."

"It will be the case of the big fish eating the smaller ones," he said, referring to big business groups that could monopolize the power industry.

The other day, the President signed into law the long-delayed bill but conceded it can still stand "some improvements" and may be sent back to the legislative mill to ensure consumer protection and further level the playing field for consumers.

Mrs. Arroyo immediately directed new Energy Secretary Vicente Perez to conduct public hearings to ensure that the objective of bringing down power costs is met.

Enrile, whose term as senator ends on June 30, conceded that there was nothing more he could do to prevent the implementation of the new law.

He pointed out that Malacañang had employed the argument of urgency in the enactment of the measure.

Malacañang assured consumers yesterday of the immediate implementation of a 30-centavo per kilowatt-hour reduction on electric bills.

"The promise of the power bill was that household rates would go down. We are holding true to that promise," Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

The Electric Industry Act allows the restructuring of the country’s power industry and the privatization of debt-ridden National Power Corp. (Napocor). It seeks to open the power sector to more foreign investments, prevent future power shortages and lower power rates, which are among Asia’s highest.

The new law will allow Napocor to auction off its generating assets, which is expected to generate some $4.5 billion for the government.

Critics of the power bill had vigorously opposed the provision that requires the government to absorb $4 billion of Napocor’s $6-billion debt to facilitate its privatization. The government argued it could not sell the power firm if it isn’t relieved of most of its debts.

Meanwhile, a militant church people’s organization accused the President of treachery when she "deliberately deceived the people to support the measure in exchange for lower rates and a more level playing field."

Robert de Castro, secretary general of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) said Mrs. Arroyo’s call for additional safeguards in the new law was an indication that the measure was hurriedly passed.

"Malacañang had been under pressure from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank to the detriment of the people’s welfare and national patrimony," he said. "The truth is in one or two years the people will suffer from a series of power rate increases that never happened before."

De Castro said the power law was a manifestation of the President’s "servitude to the foreign corporations and capitalist greed." – With Marichu Villanueva