Which is better, gov’t. run or privatized power?

Yesterday at the 888 Forum in Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, one of the issues tackled was the abolition of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) by the group called Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) represented by its Secretary General Aaron Pedrosa. Pedrosa also bewailed the fact that the Philippines has the highest power rates in Asia, next to Japan. He also pointed out that because of the EPIRA law, power generation in this country is now in the control of a few families - the Lopezes, the Aboitizes, Pangilinan and Ramon Ang.

So I asked the question… will repealing the EPIRA Act of 2001 reduce our electricity bills? Of course, no one knows the answer to that. But what is crystal clear is that something is causing electricity rates to skyrocket and why Congress or the Senate has not even thought of conducting any special investigation to look into this situation is for me disturbing. Like it or not, high power rates is one major reason why Foreign Direct Investors (FDI) have shied away from the Philippines.

Just a week ago GMA News reported that FDIs into the Philippines have gone down by a whopping 83% according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The Central Bank attributes this decline to the global economic setbacks, especially with the Euro zone experiencing a recession.

This is what we’ve been harping about when Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, III went to Cambodia for the ASEM conference where his propagandists were saying that he was there to entice the Europeans to invest here. If you ask me… that report was all bull! The Europeans, even if they wanted to, don’t have the money to invest in the Philippines because whatever little money they have is needed to fix their own financial problems.

Another question thrown into the 888 Forum was whether it was wise for the Philippine Senate to have given the National Grid Power Corporation (NGCP) a franchise to operate and manage the National Transmission Corporation (Transco). Frankly speaking, exactly five years ago, the (FDC) already said, “Surrendering control of the national grid was the government’s biggest loss.” Again, since it is already five years since that franchise was given by the Senate… perhaps we should look into this and find out whether this franchise was good for the country or not. Again, what is needed here is another Senate investigation… but then our Senators have other priorities like getting their siblings elected into the Senate Oligarchy.

Perhaps the problem with us Filipinos is we only complain when the prices are high. With electricity rates hit the roof, everyone seems to be complaining, which of course is completely understandable. But I argued with Pedrosa that the problem with the leftist groups is they always go to the extreme of abolishing the EPIRA law instead of finding out what really is the problem and find ways to correct them.

This situation is similar to another law called the Deregulation Law which many leftist organizations like Piston want repealed because of high oil prices. But today, oil prices have fallen to new lows. Pump prices of diesel is pegged at P42.00 per liter while unleaded gasoline is around P50.00 per liter. Ask yourself… do you see militant groups marching on our streets demanding the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law? No sir. Jeepney drivers and operators keep mum while they are enjoying fares pegged by the Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board (LTFRB) when diesel oil prices were at P50.00 per liter. So ask yourself are these people in the transport industry being fair to the ordinary Filipino?

Back to the argument of the EPIRA Law and the reality that the power industry in this country is controlled by a few families. In all truth and honesty… isn’t this the reality in the Philippines today… that after one-man rule, business in the Philippines is still being controlled by a few families. Just go back 20-years ago and the top 20 Corporate Taxpayers in this country were names that are no longer considered household names. SM was just a shoe store in downtown Manila.

Look at the top 20 Corporations of the Philippines today and most of them are in one way or the other in the power business. But should we blame these families? No sir. If our Constitution allows political dynasties to exist, then it is safe to assume that the political oligarchy has control over the government side of the power industry. So when these industries are privatized, what is really stopping the big moneyed family corporations from investing in this lucrative business? Meanwhile, the nation has a debt of US$17.4 billion dollars… and we gathered that from Napocor alone, it has a debt of US$16.17 billion dollars, thanks to decades of gross inefficiency without any transparency and responsibility. For me privatization is still better for the country.

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