House starts plenary debates on Noy emergency powers

MANILA, Philippines - Plenary deliberations in the House of Representatives began last night on the proposed Joint Resolution 21 that seeks to grant President Aquino emergency powers to address the expected power shortage in Luzon next summer.

The floor debates began after Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. received a letter from President Aquino on Monday certifying the resolution as urgent.

“A critical energy situation will pose a tangible threat to the country’s developing economy and will hinder the delivery of basic social services to the detriment of the general welfare of the people,” Aquino said in his letter dated Nov. 27.

“The Joint Resolution’s immediate passage will adequately resolve this emergency through the expeditious acquisition of additional power generating capacities to be used during the anticipated period of deficient energy supply,” he said.

The certification meant the chamber could approve the resolution on second, third and final reading in one plenary session. Aquino in September wrote Congress asking for emergency powers, invoking Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House committee on energy and vice chairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC), delivered the sponsorship speech and was immediately interpellated by Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares.

Umali said the resolution underwent thorough discussion in the committee level with no less than eight technical working group meetings and at least two public hearings.

“Let me begin by saying what this Joint Resolution is not. The House Joint Resolution 21 is not a resolution that will let this country spend P6 billion to P12 billion to acquire additional generating capacity,” Umali said.

“It will not even add a single centavo on our electricity bills. Rather, this Resolution is the most cost-effective piece of legislation that could have been formulated to respond to the looming power crisis,” he said.