Palace to defer to DND, NICA on NGCP control issue

Malacañang on Thursday declined to comment on reports that China could shut down the Philippines’ power grid in the event of conflict.

China’s State Grid Corporation has a 40% stake in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), a private consortium that operates, maintains, and expands the country’s power grid.

System operations are controlled and managed by Chinese engineers, an arrangement opposed by several Philippine lawmakers, calling it a serious national concern.

“Since that is a national security matter, I will defer to the position of the Department of National Defense as well as the NICA [National Intelligence Coordinating Agency] director,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

President Rodrigo Duterte has not yet ordered an investigation into the matter because he still has to see how security officials view the situation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday the reports have no basis and that the State Grid Corporation of China only took part in a National Transmission Commission (Transco) project as a “cooperation partner.”

There is no basis to allegations that State Grid Corporation’s control over the power grid poses a threat to national security, he said.

Geng urged “certain individuals” in the Philippines to look at cooperation with China “in an open, objective and impartial manner.” —VDS, GMA News