Ex-World Bank consultant warns RP of oil crisis

An investment consultant has warned the country is facing an imminent oil crisis unless the government works to speed up the privatization and sale of its power generation assets.

According to Mike Domingo, the government faces the prospect of losing billions in potential revenues with the snail-paced disposal of its energy assets.

Domingo, a former World Bank consultant and convener of the group People for Empowerment and Truth, scored the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) over what he described as its "deliberate effort to slow down the privatization of the energy assets apparently to protect the interests of big and powerful industry players."

"The world is on its way to divorcing its addiction from oil and traditional products. In fact, it is headed towards the way of using natural and renewable energy sources. However, some vested interest groups are trying to prevent the march from the traditional to the renewable sources because they stand to lose billions of pesos in potential earnings," Domingo said.

Domingo called on President Arroyo to replace Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla for his alleged failure to initiate programs to address the oil and energy crisis.

"Lotilla should be replaced by someone who has the vision and sincere desire to serve the country and look out for the best interest of the people," he said.

Domingo said several leading economists and lawmakers also wanted Lotilla sacked over the alleged spate of blunders in the energy sector under his watch.

One of the latest blunders surfaced during the budget hearing last Jan. 26 when PSALM president Nieves Osorio and National Power Corp. chief Cyril del Callar declared they had already disposed of 11 percent of the Napocor assets.

The senators, however, pointed out to the two officials that they had actually sold only three percent of the assets, Domingo said.

"World Bank and other financial institutions are rushing the sale of generation assets because they want to get the right and prevailing market prices for them and in the process they can immediately proceed with the renewable energy sources programs," he said.

Domingo stressed that the longer it takes for the government to dispose of the assets, the greater the chance it will lose opportunities to sell them at "carpet floor prices."

Domingo said those with vested interests were "doing everything they can to pull the country backwards" in preventing the immediate disposal of the energy assets.

"However, before we can shift to use of alternative energy sources we need fresh capital infusions from foreign investors who want to see that the country is now ready to shift from old and traditional means to new and more environment-friendly sources," Domingo said.