PSALM justified to have private lawyer for future privatization effort

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said it would have leeway to hire private lawyers for its future privatization efforts after the Supreme Court (SC) provided remedial measures for government agencies to tap external legal advisors.

The state-run agency welcomes the SC decision that gives it justification to hire external counsel to do its mandate of privatizing government-owned power assets, PSALM president and CEO Irene Besido-Garcia said in a Viber message to
The STAR.

“But in the future, if ever PSALM will lack lawyers to handle the privatization, then it would be justifiable to hire external lawyers to do the privatization work and the Supreme Court’s latest decision on this matter will be very helpful in guiding PSALM,” she said.

Earlier this week, the SC provided remedial measures on government agencies’ requests for authority to hire private lawyers, which the Commission on Audit (COA) may adopt in cases where it fails to act within the mandatory 60-day review period, based on a 31-page decision penned by Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier.

The decision was based on PSALM’s request to engage private lawyers for the privatization of generation assets of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) in 2011.

The SC overturned COA’s denial of PSALM’s request to engage private legal advisors on the Napocor privatization projects, which took the COA more than three years to act on.

Without notice from COA, PSALM proceeded to hire the legal advisors on Aug. 29, 2011. But on Nov. 6, 2014, the COA disapproved PSALM’s request because it entered into without prior approval, which it said was in violation of its guidelines.

The COA further ordered that PSALM officers who approved and recommended the contract should themselves pay the fees of the private lawyers.

The SC ordered COA to allow payment of the total compensation due the private lawyers hired by PSALM.

It said that “COA was at fault and gravely abused its discretion when it took three years to act on PSALM’s request without any justifiable reason for the delay,” violating PSALM’s constitutional right to a speedy disposition of its case.

Moreover, the High Court said PSALM cannot be blamed for proceeding to hire external lawyers given its mandate to privatize under the Electronic Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).

However, PSALM said it currently has no need for external counsel and the agency now has enough internal lawyers to proceed with the privatization work, Besido-Garcia said.

Besido-Garcia, a lawyer herself, said she is very hands on PSALM’s privatization efforts.

The agency also saves on costs to “do the legal structure and terms of our privatization by ourselves than rely on external counsel,” Besido-Garcia said.

PSALM is the agency mandated by the EPIRA to handle the financial obligations of Napocor through the privatization of government-owned assets, collection of the proceeds and its effective implementation of its liability management program.