MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:58 p.m.) — The Senate public services panel is open to heeding the call of some senators to review the congressional franchise of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, committee chairperson Sen. Grace Poe said Monday.
“The committee will thoroughly scrutinize the performance of the NGCP and see if it has remained faithful to its signed franchise or if violations have been committed,” Poe said in a statement.
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She stressed that recurring power outages across the country during the summer months should not be the norm and added that vigilance must be exercised to ensure that electricity must remain under the control of Filipinos.
“Utilities that are concerned with national security should remain with the national government, controlled by the Philippines,” Sen. JV Ejercito said in a press briefing at the Senate.
Ejercito said that while it will entail a lot of costs, the government should find ways to take back control of the energy transmission system, 40% of which is owned by the State Grid Corporation of China, while the remaining 60% is owned by a group of Filipino businessmen led by tycoons Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.
Take it back?
“There is a way if we want to [take back control.] We have to put national interest, patrimony and national security first so that we have peace of mind,” Ejercito said.
This was echoed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who said the country’s transmission lines should not have been privatized in the first place due to national security concerns and financial losses to the government.
“However, that would be the subject of extensive discussions and a comprehensive review of one of the most contentious concession agreements, especially after a performance audit is conducted to determine whether the local consortium is up to the job in light of the country's current power woes,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said re-nationalizing the grid “makes a lot of sense.”
“Given the increasing occurrence of brownouts in the Philippines, the government should be more proactive in ensuring that there would be enough power supply in the country, especially with the imminent occurrence of El Niño,” Villanueva said in a statement.
Not all senators are supportive of the plan to take back the NGCP, though, as Sen. Francis Escudero said he has reservations about it until he subjects the proposal to a thorough study.
The NGCP has reported in recent weeks power plant outages that led to brownouts across the country. — Xave Gregorio