Supposed deal on Meralco rate hike irks ‘Kabayan’

Sen. Noli de Castro expressed irritation yesterday over speculations that the recent Meralco power rate increase is part of a deal that President Arroyo and the Lopezes have supposedly made to ensure his being Mrs. Arroyo’s vice presidential running mate in next year’s elections.

"Anong deal ’yan? Wala akong kinalaman sa deal na ’yan, kung meron man (What deal? I have no part in such a deal, if there’s any)," a visibly irritated De Castro, who seldom speaks in English, told reporters.

"At isa pa, bakit ako makikipag-deal? (Besides, why would I enter into a deal?)," he asked.

De Castro is a talent of the Lopezes’ ABS-CBN television network, which made him popular and rich and where he still has his "Magandang Gabi, Bayan" program.

Based on surveys, the broadcaster-turned-senator is a formidable opponent in either the presidential or vice presidential race. The President’s allies desperately want him to be her running mate primarily to eliminate a potential rival.

The newest survey, released Tuesday, shows De Castro a close second to movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. as a potential winner in the presidential race.

There are also speculations that other political strategists of Mrs. Arroyo would prefer that the popular broadcaster run for president so he can eat into Poe’s mass base.

The neophyte senator said reports about a supposed deal between Mrs. Arroyo and his ABS-CBN benefactors are unfair to him, to the President and the Lopezes.

He urged the government to tell the public the reasons for the power rate increase "in an open and transparent manner."

He claimed that he is not affected by the speculations. Informed of a statement of opposition Sen. Edgardo Angara that a decision on De Castro’s part to seek the presidency or the vice presidency would be a confirmation of the reports, he shot back: "Kita n’yo, sila ang apektado, hindi ako (You see, it is they who are affected, not me)."

He said he is still in the process of deciding what higher office to seek or whether to run at all, since his senatorial term runs till 2007.

He said Mrs. Arroyo’s emissaries are offering him to be her running mate. He would soon meet with the President about it, he said.

He conceded that maybe, if he announces that he is not running in next year’s elections, he would not be the subject of any speculation.

Reports about a deal between the President and the Lopezes were fueled by Mrs. Arroyo’s presence at the recent 18th Philippine Advertising Congress in Baguio City, which ABS-CBN big boss Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III chaired. Mrs. Arroyo was a guest at the congress.

Lopez even raised the President’s hand as if to proclaim that she is his candidate.

In a statement, the Lopez family strongly denied persistent reports that they had reached some kind of deal with the President in relation to Meralco and Maynilad and De Castro running as her vice president.

"It is grossly unfair to demonize us just so some politicians can win populist brownie points," Oscar Lopez, chairman of the Lopez Group, said.

"The Meralco rate increase, the first real increase since 1994, had been modest and underwent scrutiny by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)," Manolo Lopez, Meralco chairman, said.

As for Maynilad, the family-owned water concessionaire, Lopez said "the Arroyo administration through MWSS and the justice department has given us no quarters. Temporary relief was granted us by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court."

On the matter of De Castro, Gabby Lopez said, the senator "makes up his own mind and it is insulting to think that we can make him run with the President or with anybody or even run at all if he is not inclined to."

A week before the ad congress, Senate President Franklin Drilon said that a Arroyo-De Castro team-up appeared to be a "done deal."

Drilon said the public should be informed of strings that are attached to the deal, if any. — With Marichu Villanueva