Throwing a monkey wrench into RP-Sokor ties!

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) inaugurated the Korea-Philippines Information Technology Training Center in Quezon City last Friday… while on the same day in Naga, Cebu, the Kepco-Salcon Power Corp. also went on with the groundbreaking ceremonies of their coal-fired power plant, which was slated to be inaugurated by President Arroyo and President Roh but somehow the Cebu end of his state visit was abruptly cancelled.

This goes to show the very strong ties that the Philippines has with our South Korean neighbors. For sure, the IT Training Center in Quezon City will also need English-speaking Koreans so that they can pass on their knowledge to us Filipinos and we can all hope that nothing will break this bond of friendship. This is why I chastised the Bureau of Immigration (BID) for exacting an "accreditation fee" of P50,000 for foreigners (this targets mostly Koreans) who come to our shores to teach their own countrymen a short course in the English language. But the BID hasn’t replied to our exposé on this which clearly indicates that they’re either too greedy to recall their unwelcome memo or they just don’t care about the rest of the country.

As we’ve said before, many areas in Cebu, and I guess this goes for the rest of the country, have experienced a Korean invasion. Old homes or buildings are being rented out even in the most dilapidated areas so that the Koreans can come to our country (especially at this time when winter is harsh in the Korean peninsula) to enjoy our hospitality and in the end, come out of their vacation learning how to speak English. No doubt the BID memo throws a monkey wrench into South Korean-Philippines friendship and I would like to ask Tourism Secretary Ace Durano to sit down with the BID officials and reason with them that their memo is counter-productive to Philippine-Korean relations.

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Talking about that controversial coal-fired power plant of Kepco-Salcon Power that broke ground last Friday, let me point out that we’ve supported their cause in the past months, especially when self-proclaimed environmentalists tried so hard to prevent this plant from being built. I have always believed that when it comes to power, we’ve very limited options. We threw out nuclear power when the Cory administration came in. Diesel-fired power plants have become too expensive to operate because of the high cost of fuel… hence, the only options we have left are geothermal, which we already have, and coal-fired plants… which the environmentalists hate.

I understand that during the state visit of the South Korea President, he also signed a memorandum of understanding on joint cooperation with the Philippines to develop energy and mineral resources and promote the socio-economic development of the Philippines. I guess this is where the Kepco-Salcon Power Corp. plant they are building in Naga comes into the picture.

When the Leyte-Cebu interconnection was completed, we were all given the impression that Cebu was finally "brownout-free." But that is not the reality on the ground. It turned out, we still need another power plant to supplement our power needs. We wrote about this in detail last Dec. 2.

While we welcome the coming of this power plant, however, there are many vital and unanswered questions that Kepco-Salcon Power Corp. has to answer to the satisfaction of the people of Cebu. First and foremost is, who is buying the power that comes out of this plant?

Today, no one builds a million-dollar power plant without knowing who is going to buy power from this plant and the last time I heard about any power purchase deals being hatched was between the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) and the Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC). No one ever heard of any negotiations on power purchases with Kepco-Salcon. So the next possible buyer for this new plant is the Cebu Electric Cooperative (Cebeco), but then, I don’t hear any noise from them either. So again, who is buying power from this plant?

Kepco-Salcon officials should also inform the public whether this plant already has an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) or clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). While I am all for the construction of this coal-fired power plant in Naga, it should be said that it must have the DENR’s ECC… that is also something that I haven’t heard that it has hurdled.

Why are we asking these questions? Because I have a hunch that the National Power Corp. (Napocor) may just be the power buyer here, as I don’t see any other power buyer in sight! Gads, we don’t even know who is the contractor of this plant. I do know that the Regional Development Council (RDC-7) hasn’t approved this project yet!

With the way the Napocor has been operating at a huge loss, it boils down to the reality that we the taxpayers or the power consumers are going to be the ultimate losers in deals that may have been concocted in secret backrooms perhaps to serve as a "retirement" for Napocor officials! All we need is some transparency about this Korean project, which we have been supporting in the past. But if they refuse to answer our queries, then we might as well join the opposition groups to stop this plant from operating!

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During his last speech before the cadets at West Point, the American Caesar, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, told the young cadets what happens to old soldiers like him who survive wars, saying, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." After that, Gen. MacArthur retired from military service and from public view with honor and integrity!

Well, that’s not exactly true to retired Gen. Fortunato Abat, who, at the age of 80, got himself on the front pages of our national and local newspapers when he declared himself president of a transition government. Only in the Philippines where old soldiers do not fade away, they are taken away in a police van… hopefully to be sent to a sanitarium or prison for inciting sedition. I was watching the interview on ANC with lawyer Homobono Adaza about this brouhaha and I can only conclude that these people are making a mockery out of our political and legal system. This is no laughing matter!

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.