Lawmakers seek more deliberations on bill seeking franchise for Solar Para sa Bayan

Lawmakers across party-lines are urging the House Committee on Rules to return for further deliberations what is supposedly an “unconstitutional” bill seeking a 25-year franchise for the Solar Para Sa Bayan Corporation.

In House Resolution 2182 filed on Wednesday, 15 legislators want the House Committee on Legislative Franchises to resume deliberations on House Bill 8179, which it already approved.

The committee has given the nod to Solar Para Sa Bayan, including the mandate to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintain power technologies and mini grid systems in the country.

Solar Para Sa Bayan is founded by Leandro Leviste, son of Senator Loren Legarda. The younger Leviste is also founder of Solar Philippines. Solar Para sa Bayan aims to bring cheaper and more reliable power to areas poorly served by utilities, in support of the Duterte administration’s aim of ending energy poverty by 2022.

In a press conference on Thursday, 1-PACMAN party-list Representative Michael Romero claimed that the bill is “unconstitutional” as it grants a master franchise to operate throughout the country and a blanket authority allowing it to infringe and encroach on existing franchises of main transmission grids.

“The bill is unconstitutional in nature, which grants a master franchise to operate all throughout the Philippine archipelago, a blanket authority that would allow it to infringe and encroach on all existing franchises,” Romero claimed.

“The un-limitless feature of this bill also grants Solar company the ability to put up mini grids anywhere they want to throughout the whole Philippines or nationwide, even if these areas are already served and electrified by other players,” he said.

“This law is actually bringing in a monopoly, or a super consortium, or a super corporation to the whole Philippine power sector,” he added.

The bill is a clear violation of the Electric Power Industry Reform (EPIRA) law, which states that the whole power sector in the country should be “unbundled,” Romero further claimed.

“This Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation bill bundled again into one, the electric power distribution, the transmission, as well as power generation into one super monopoly,” he said.

“This by itself is a super, super, super franchise which is more than $2 billion at the onset. This will be the biggest franchise ever given by our 17th Congress,” he added.

BUHAY party-list Representative Lito Atienza claimed that bill’s approval at the committee level has been “railroaded.”

It took only four days after the first deliberation of the two bills seeking to grant franchise to Solar Para Sa Bayan for the Committee on Legislative Franchises to approve the committee report on House Bill 8179, according to the resolution.

It was then referred to the Committee on Rules the next day.

“Nung ni-railroad nila, alam ko meron nang irregularity. Alam niyo, pag ang Majority ay meron nang ginagawang extra effort to push for anything, then you suspect more that there is something here,” Atienza alleged.

He noted that Solar Para Sa Bayan is exempted from paying taxes.

“They will be taxed only at three percent Franchise Tax. All local and national taxes will be waived,” he said.

“Tama ba yon? Masyado naman yatang paborito itong isang kumpanyang ito,” he added.

Atienza said Legarda did not reach out to them regarding the franchise.

But Romero said the issue is not about Legarda.“This is 100 percent of the electric power sector. This bill will give undue advantage to one corporation,” he said

“This is practically a monopoly. So, kami naman walang personalan, trabaho lang ito, and we want to convey also that you know we are against this bill, clearly,” the Romero noted.

Atienza said he and his fellow lawmakers are bringing the issue to public attention.

“This effort is meant to pre-empt any more railroading of this issue. If the public is aware, then there’ll be no railroading. Pag hindi ito nakarating sa public, malamang iyong mga merong plano dito baka i-railroad,” he said. —VDS GMA News