COA urged: Settle issue on Iligan power plant

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) will give Mindanao a Christmas gift of ensuring immediate solution to the power outages that continue to bedevil its residents and businesses if it settles the ownership of the 102-megawatt (MW) Iligan diesel-fired power plant based on a court order that granted Iligan City ownership of the electricity generation facility, the city government said yesterday.

In a recent letter-appeal, the Iligan City government requested COA to reconsider the conditions it imposed on the disposal of the 102-MW diesel-fired power plant whose rehabilitation and operation would end blackouts that cut off electricity supply in most Mindanao cities for two to eight hours daily since summer this year.

“We are hopeful that despite its busy workload, the COA will be able to resolve these matters with dispatch in order to help ease the burden of blackouts currently borne by the people of Iligan and the rest of Mindanao,” Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz said.

In its motion for reconsideration with the COA, the Iligan City government said the cases and subsequent appeals filed by the National Power Corp. questioning the tax delinquency sale have been dismissed by the Iligan Regional Trial Court Branch 3 and settled in a compromise agreement between the Napocor and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. that took over all of Napocor’s assets under the new EPIRA Law and the Iligan City government on May 23, 2011.

The Iligan City government took ownership of the power plant in April 25, 2007 from Napocor in a tax delinquency sale because of the government power firm’s non-payment of local taxes.

The Napocor formally turned over ownership and operation of the power plant to the city government under the administration of President Aquino in December 2010.

The city government subsequently asked private companies to bid for the rehabilitation and operation of the power plant in 2011, which the Alcantara Group’s Mapalad Power Corp. won.