Resolve

Among the factors contributing to the malaise afflicting our energy sector has been the lack of regulatory decisiveness on the part of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Players in the energy sector had to wait – sometimes for years – for the ERC to decide on rate petitions. The slow regulatory responses does not help attract investors our energy sector direly needs.

Since Nino Juan assumed the chairmanship of the ERC, the regulatory agency has shown a little more resolve in settling the issues rather than letting them fester indefinitely. The regulatory backlog the new leadership inherited from previous administrations has built up quite substantially.

The ERC needs to handle complex issues, especially where rate adjustments are involved. Regulators need to balance contending interests, including the occasional political pressure to postpone unpopular rate increases. But our energy sector cannot prosper under prolonged uncertainty. There are operational costs that must be covered and return on investments that must be made.

Over the past few months, thankfully, the ERC had been resolving outstanding energy issues with unusual cadence. The agency approved the rate reset application of Cotabato Light and Power Company – the first such reset approved in over a decade. The regulator likewise approved the NGCP’s rate reset and resolved the long-pending Napocor filings involving the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification.

In its latest decision, the ERC approved Meralco’s application for a rate reset. The company’s distribution rate was last reset in 2011. Since then, the cost dynamics have changed dramatically. While there was regulatory inaction, the distribution utility could not proceed with its modernization plans. That brought harm to the consumers who deserve to benefit from cutting edge distribution technologies.

The approved regulatory reset covers the period July 2026 to June 2030. The approval was granted after a thorough assessment of the distribution utility’s operations and modernization plans. On this basis, Meralco was granted a lower revenue requirement than what it originally sought. Meralco proposed the reset rate at P2.34 per kWh. ERC approved an average distribution rate of P1.48.

The ERC decided on the reset rate level after it reviewed capital expenditures, operating expenses, the asset base and its return on capital. Costs that were not convincing enough were reduced or excluded. The regulator also applied price-shock mitigation measures to cushion the impact on consumers of the rate reset that comes after a long interval.

Every consideration was made to ensure fairness on all sides – even if we should not expect the best of all worlds.

Collateral damage

Eduardo Gutierrez is 80 years old. He owns the land along the Taguig shoreline inherited from his grandfather. Lately, he has been distressed by news that shoreline properties like the one he occupies could be using fake titles.

“May titulo kami. Nagbabayad kami ng property tax,” the old man insists. Now he fears the land could be taken from him because of allegations made in the course of a noisy clash between two senators.

“Andun ang kaba na baka bawiin,” says Mang Eduardo. “Dagdag problema na wala naman dapat sa una pa lang.”

Last Aug. 29, Sen. Panfilo Lacson claimed that four parcels of land on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake, totaling 38.83 hectares, carry “fraudulently” issued titles. He withheld the names of the lot owners and their land titles, however. This leaves all the shoreline residents worried over the fate of their properties.

Six weeks after Lacson described the shoreline properties as “fraudulent,” no details have been released. The Land Registration Authority says it is still tracing the titles. The ombudsman remains in the fact-finding stage. No court has cancelled any titles along the shore.

Meanwhile, Lacson keeps adding to his claims. He began claiming “ghost projects” – although none was identified. Then he claimed illegal reclamation – which was not established. Now he has added “fraudulent” land titles. He began with four lots. By Sept. 19, he was speaking of 13 land titles covering 170 hectares.

Lacson has his Senate staff. It should have required little work to specifically identify the plots of land he rails against. But he has not. As a result, he has thrown all the shoreline residents into a state of anxiousness.

The lakeshore barangays are among the oldest communities in Taguig. For many years, they went placidly doing their business. They were there before C-6 was built. The new road brought in crowds and opened new business opportunities for the residents.

As in most places, the small lots could have been derived from a much larger mother title. If that mother title is voided, the small titles derived from it lose validity. This is what the residents fear. This is why they have become so unsettled.

Deep inside, they know all the noise is just politics. But that does not diminish the anxiety. It is as if one senator fired a shotgun hitting whole communities, taking collateral damage indiscriminately.

Old-time residents such as Mang Eduardo are hoping Lacson will specify his accusations. This will at least be assurance that those who owned land for generations will be spared from unwanted attention. Right now, no one could sell their land because the validity of the titles have been questioned.

The sooner Lacson specifies his accusations, the better for the lakeshore residents. They feel they have become hostages to a senseless political brawl. They have all become suspects.