‘Bantay-salakay’

 Last time I checked, crafting laws is the main job of our senators and congressmen. In the exercise of their oversight functions, the only time our lawmakers are empowered to watch over how public funds are spent and used is through congressional budgetary inquiries.

But when there are allegations or reports of corruption, the lawmakers can conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation and submit their findings and recommendations, if any, for the prosecution of those who may be found guilty of wrongdoing in public office.

This is what Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano perhaps had in mind in defending himself the other day on criticisms of his “grandstanding” at the expense of a fellow senator. Although no names were mentioned, Cayetano felt alluded to by criticisms on the Senate floor as voiced by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

The Estrada-Cayetano word war came after the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee conducted its latest hearing into the pork barrel scam since it started in August last year. It had its ninth and most recent hearing last week.

Speaking on a matter of personal privilege, Estrada minced no words in hurling these criticisms against a fellow senator whom he accused of “grandstanding” at the Senate public hearings. Estrada, along with fellow Senators Juan Ponce-Enrile and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. were implicated on the alleged misuse of their respective allocations of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Estrada insinuated a certain senator who recently admitted his intention to run in the coming May 2016 presidential elections has been taking advantage of the public interest on the PDAF scam to score brownie points. Cayetano, however, argued it was not presidential ambition that is driving him to get media mileage every Senate hearing on the PDAF scam. 

Cayetano maintains he is merely being consistent in his fight against corruption whoever is accused, even if maybe he or she is a fellow senator. He rued the image of the Senate as an institution has been tarnished by the PDAF scam allegations.

Engaging Estrada in a debate after the latter’s privilege speech, Cayetano posited: “Ang pagtingin ng tao ay nadudurog dahil ang tingin nila kung sino pang nagbabantay sa pera ng bayan ay nagbabantay salakay.” Roughly translated: “Our whole institution is crushed because people think that those who are supposed to guard their money are the ones stealing it.”

We could not find the exact translation of “bantay-salakay” but the nearest we can get is “opportunistic.” If used in a negative sense, this refers to unprincipled resourcefulness. 

Speaking of opportunistic literally in a bad light, the “bantay-salakay” tag fits more appropriately the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). This is the best definition that we can give to the ERC even after they came out last week with a ruling that is supposed to elate us. Instead, however, we feel outraged that it is only now that the ERC found out that we have been over billed in our electricity use all this time.

As chief power regulator, the ERC voided the controversial P4.15 per kilowatthour (kwh) hikes in electricity rates in December 2013 and in January this year that the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) sought to collect due to increased generation costs. Citing “market failure” in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the ERC blamed it for having pushed rates by more than half of what was justified during the period.

In its ruling last March 6 but made public five days later, the ERC also ordered WESM operator Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) to recalculate the prices and for Meralco to make the necessary adjustments. Naturally, Meralco definitely must comply with the ordered reduction in rates.

Created as an independent body of government, the ERC is mandated to protect public interest of us consumers while at the same time making sure power firms and utilities like Meralco get their fair return on investment, all in accordance with the laws of the land.

The ERC was only pressed to act more than three months after no less than the Supreme Court (SC) — acting on petition filed by militant groups led by Bayan Muna — stepped into the picture as it issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop Meralco’s implementing its rate hikes. Because of the High Court’s TRO in December 2013, Meralco had to peg the generation charge at P5.67 per kwh.

Meralco’s generation charge rose to P9.10 per kwh in December 2013 and to P10.23 per kwh in January 2014 due to drop in supply as a result of the scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya natural gas plant and the forced shutdown of several other power stations.

At the public hearing of the House committee on energy that looked into this questioned Meralco rate hikes, Department of Energy (DOE) officials raised suspicion of “collusion” among the power industry players. The DOE noted the timing of the shutdown was apparently designed to artificially jack up electricity prices.

Where was ERC all the time this was happening? As protector of public interest, the ERC is supposed to be our watchdog against predatory pricing of public utilities in pursuit of profitability.

The five-man quasi-judicial body is chaired by former Pampanga congresswoman Zenaida Ducut who herself was implicated last year in the PDAF scam. Ducut was allegedly acting as “conduit” of PDAF kickbacks during the period she was no longer a member of Congress but already ERC chairperson.

Ducut has also been named in separate complaints filed by militant groups before the Office of the President for “gross neglect of duty and incompetence in protecting the interest of the power consumers” as ERC chief. Enjoying a fixed term of seven years, the Palace earlier maintained Ducut can only be removed from office for cause, or if she voluntarily resigns before her term lapses in 2015.

As the PDAF scam continues to enrage and rile the nation, including those lawmakers implicated in it, the inutility of the ERC has been fortunate to escape public wrath. While our lawmakers have been waging their saliva war against each other, the ERC is getting away with the “bantay-salakay” role it has played until they were caught in flagrante of not doing their sworn duty.