NG wants Mirant to get okay on sale of assets

The National Government wants Atlanta-based Mirant Corp. to get a prior consent from the National Power Corp. (Napocor) before the sale of its interest in the Philippines commences, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said over the weekend.

"It is prior to any transfer, when you say ‘prior’ it has to be prior to any transaction. It has always been the case that before you can transfer any of the responsibilities or commitment, there has to be consent on the part of the Philippine government through Napocor," Lotilla told reporters.

Lotilla made this pronouncement after it was learned that Mirant Corp., owner of the more than 2,000 megawatt (MW) Mirant Philippines Corp. has yet to ask for Napocor’s consent on the sale of its equity in Mirant Philippines.

"We don’t want to be inflexible about that process. I don’t want to say that it has to be prior to the bidding or after the bidding. But what’s important is that there is prior consent," he said.

On the fate Mirant’s employees, Lotilla stressed that the government will protect the welfare of the workers.

"The government wants to make sure that everyone is protected. One looks at Mirant in the Philippines you look at both the hard and soft assets — in other words you’ll need the manpower to run the plant after it changes ownership or after Napocor is privatized," he explained.

He said it has been the National Government’s concern to protect the affected employees of soon-to-be sold assets of the government.

"In other words, the personnel are the ones who know the plant very well and so it is in the interest not only of the private buyer but of the National Government — with who Mirant has a contract — that we are able to preserve the strength of the human resources available to these plants," Lotilla said.

Lotilla also noted that US-based officials of Mirant earlier gave their assurance that both the assets (physical and human) would be protected once the sale pushes through.

"Mirant officials assured President Arroyo that they value these assets and the human resources as well. From that perspective of being able to find a buyer, the welfare of the personnel will always be a concern," he said.

Mirant employees have recently asked Napocor president Cyril del Callar’s help in ensuring that they would be given fair and just separation package before the actual sale of Mirant assets in the Philippines is undertaken.