Sen. Santiago says emergency powers won't solve energy issues 

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday questioned the privatization of power assets under the Electric Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, especially since China was able to have a stake in electricity transmission system, saying the long-standing problem in the energy sector cannot be solved by the emergency powers sought by Malacañang.

 

In an e-mailed statement Monday, Santiago dubbed as a “national-security virus” the Chinese state-owned firm that holds 40 percent of the capital stock of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

 

“It is the core or the heart of the electric power industry,” Santiago said, referring to the NGCP which operates the system that distributes electricity from generators to millions of consumers.

 

“The Philippine Constitution is replete with requirements of nationalism but such a vital and strategic industry such as the electric power industry is infected by a national-security virus,” the senator added.

 

The Philippines is in a bitter territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea.

 

The Senate is currently deliberating on Joint Resolution No. 12 which seeks to grant President Aquino the emergency powers to address a projected power crisis in Luzon this summer.

 

The House of Representatives approved its version of the measure in December last year.

 

Flaws in EPIRA

 

While Malacañang certified the measure as urgent, Santiago said it failed to address the flaws in Republic Act No. 9136 or EPIRA, a law that aims to streamline processes in the power industry by privatizing the assets of state-run National Power Corporation.

 

Santiago said the privatization contradicts constitutional provisions on the ownership of natural resources and Philippine obligations under the international law of human rights, noting “all natural resources, in particular, all forces of potential energy are owned by the State.”

 

“When the management, control, and ownership of the electric power industry were transferred from the government to private monopolies, it is the Filipino power consumer who ultimately suffered increasing costs,” the senator said.

 

She cited Article 27 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: "Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their natural wealth and resources."

 

The senator said it is also provided in the common provisions, Article 1, Part 1 of both covenants that, “In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.”

 

But the high costs of electricity in the country, among the highest in the world, virtually deprive ordinary Filipinos of civilized means of livelihood and a sustainable standard of living, Santiago said.

 

Moreover, the senator noted a mere legislative resolution is not a legitimate means to fix the flaws of a substantial law.

 

“What is the rationale of Joint Resolution No. 12? Is it to address a potentially serious short-run problem or is it to amend the EPIRA law?  If the former, then it should do that, no more, no less,” Santiago said.

 

She also said that if the resolution is meant to address an emerging shortage of power in Luzon for the summer months of 2015, it should be simple, easily implementable, and time-bound instead of open-ended.

 

“The reality is that the government is not a paragon of efficiency and effectiveness. Joint Resolution No. 12, in its present form, might be an example where the government intervention may create its own failure,” the senator said. “The shortage we are suffering is beyond electric power and go into the crisis of governance.” 

 

Conservation measures
 

Santiago highlighted the joint resolution’s failure to include provisions on the adoption and execution of energy efficiency and conservation measures in both the public and private sectors.

 

“Energy saved is energy earned. This principle is embodied in the House version of the Joint Resolution, but missing in the Senate version. Why?” the senator asked.

 

While the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) is a quick and easy solution to the potential energy shortage, Santiago expressed concern over the cost of the program.

 

The senator cautioned against tapping the controversial Malampaya Fund, composed of royalties from the Malampaya natural gas fields off Palawan, to cushion the immediate cost of the ILP.

 

“The Malampaya Fund, a fund designed for developing new sources of energy for the Philippines, should be used frugally and with caution,” the senator said.

 

Under the ILP, consumers capable of generating their own electricity may deload from the power grid. With an estimated 3,100 megawatts of private gensets in Luzon, up to 1,400 megawatts may be deloaded during peak hours on certain days – enough to augment the Department of Energy’s maximum projected shortfall of 1,004 megawatts in the summer months.

 

Amid the national investigation on the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, there have been allegations that some P900 million from the Malampaya Fund went to bogus organizations linked to alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.

 

“The total cost of the policy intervention as envisioned in Joint Resolution No. 12 could turn out to be costlier on the part of the Filipino taxpayers. The taxpayers should know the clear and hidden costs of government intervention,” Santiago added. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News