Graft to be filed vs execs involved in Masinloc sale

Rep. Teodoro Casiño of the party-list group Bayan Muna is filing graft charges against officials of the state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) for "bungling" the sale of the P30-billion power plant in Masinloc, Zambales.

He told a news conference yesterday that these officials have violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct for Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for being "too accommodating" to the winning bidder, YNN Pacific Consortium Inc.

"They have allowed YNN to violate the asset purchase agreement for the Masinloc power plant, and worse, for helping the company go around the conditions of the sale," he said.

Casiño said PSALM reneged on its duty and caused substantial financial losses to the government when it refused to foreclose YNN’s $11.14 million performance bond even after the buyer already missed two deadlines for the down payment of $227 million, or 40 percent of its $562-million bid for the plant.

"Worse, PSALM extended the deadline twice, from the original Dec. 2, 2005 to March 31, 2006 and now to June 30, 2006, to give YNN more time to raise funds which were supposed to be immediately available and paid to the government last December as stipulated in the purchase agreement," he said.

"PSALM sold Masinloc to a dubious buyer, did not collect the penalty when the buyer failed to pay the down payment, and is now even helping the dubious buyer raise funds. What a crazy way to privatize a precious public asset," he stressed.

The Bayan Muna lawmaker revealed that he learned that by extending the deadline, PSALM is actually giving YNN more time to negotiate power supply contracts with distribution companies like Meralco.

"Such contracts are being required by potential foreign investors whom YNN is inviting to contribute funds for the project, including Malaysian firm Ranhill Power Berhad, which is expected to bring in financial and technical resources that YNN never had," he said.

He said the Energy Regulatory Board is apparently facilitating the negotiation by YNN of a supply contract with Meralco. — Jess Diaz