Trust

Stocks may rise, prices may fall, but trust will always be a valuable commodity. It is a sign of faith and, at its best, is virtually indistinguishable from ambivalence.

These days, with regard to average Filipinos, it is sadly clear that prevalent attitudes to political developments (or lack thereof) are more likely borne out of actual apathy than having every confidence in our elected officials at this point.

The response to the latest round of impeachment complaints against President Arroyo is a prime example. If one is inclined to roll his or her eyes, it is not owed to a sudden evaporation of nationalism – there are simply more pressing concerns.

In these times of rising oil prices and the threat of war breaking out in many parts of the world, Juan de la Cruz surely has other more basic things on his mind. In having to worry whether or not he can pay for his child’s tuition, or where his next meal is coming from, he can be forgiven for not being very enthusiastic or diligent in keeping track of the details of the latest impeachment complaint being raised by what seems to be an increasingly desperate opposition.

In light of next year’s elections, the situation can only get worse, as senatorial hopefuls will throw everything but the kitchen sink (and then some) into the fray in their quest to get votes.

With the potential abolition of a bicameral Congress in favor of a unicameral legislature in a Parliamentary system, should the Administration’s proposed Charter Change push through, the political opposition’s fascination with impeachment becomes easier to understand.

Despite last year’s failed impeachment bid, House Minority Leader Francis Escudero announced recently that still another complaint would be introduced on Monday, with subsequent complaints filed over the next two days. That this news has not been met with the resounding support that the opposition had hoped for would be an understatement.

Nationalism on the part of the Filipino people, or the lack thereof, is not a problem. The problem is that the people are tired. Tired of empty promises that roll around every election and are conveniently forgotten when the candidates win their seats in office. Tired of the usual politicking, grandstanding and theatrics that occupy time supposedly allotted for policy-making.

As stated by Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. "Even the archbishops and bishops who are normally critical of the President are saying huwag na iyang impeachment."

In short, it is obvious that the average Filipino is not going to waste more than the minimum amount of energy on something that seems just about as likely to change as the direction of the Earth’s Rotation. Yesterday’s impeachment complaint wasn’t the first filed, and it’s certainly not the last. Meanwhile, our nation and its people pay the price for this latest political telenovela.

Is this a justification for indifference? Hardly. It is merely a statement of fact: Our people don’t trust politicians, and are tired of the games they play. What this country needs are officials who actually live up to their job descriptions by being the public servants that they are supposedly defined. If they did, perhaps it would not be so vital for them to secure Pork Barrel funds to stencil their names on the sides of waiting sheds. If they had actually been doing their jobs in the first place, the people wouldn’t need it pointed out to them on that rare occasion that their needs were actually being looked after.

Trust is a valuable commodity, and an overwhelmingly Catholic population obviously has no shortage of faith. Perhaps it’s time that our public officials started concentrating on earning some of it.

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First Generation Holdings Corporation (FGHC) has announced that it would no longer participate in any future auction for the 600-megawatt Masinloc power plant in Zambales that the government tried to sell in what has now turned out as a failed bidding.

Perhaps this is just as well. First, because it would avoid exacerbating a conflict of interest situation where the Lopez family would have further increased its already major stakes in both the generation and distribution aspects of the power industry. That’s because Meralco, a Lopez-controlled company, is a big power distributor and is in fact trying to consolidate its hold in this line of business.

On the other hand, First Generation is into power generation and is operating the Santa Rita, San Lorenzo, Bauang, and Agusan minihydro which have generating capacities of 1,000 MW, 500 MW, 225 MW and 1.6 MW, respectively, for a total of 1,726.6 MW. The operating capacities of these four power plants already represent 14 percent of the installed capacity in Luzon.

If FGHC had won the Masinloc bidding, it would have strengthened the monopolistic character of the Lopez-owned power companies. Both FGHC and Meralco are subsidiaries of the Lopez-owned First Philippine Holdings Corporation.

It will be recalled that Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Romulo Neri had precisely called attention to the issue of monopoly in the power industry, in the aftermath of the controversy generated by the failed bid for the Masinloc plant. In this regard, he had also asked for a review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act to protect the public from monopolistic practices.

FGHC lost the Masinloc bid because its offer of $274.85 million was only about 70 percent of the $388 million floor price set by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Corporation (PSALM). It was also less than 50 percent percent of the $561.74 million bid of YNN Pacific Consortium, the other bidding participant.

Unfortunately, YNN failed to deliver the $277.54 million down payment in spite of the three-month extension granted to it by PSALM. The first deadline was March 31, 2006 but this was extended to June 30 this year after YNN failed to pay.

PSALM received a lot of brickbats over the failed bidding, but the fact is that except for the delay timeline in the privatization program, the government did not suffer any loss. PSALM forfeited the $14.14 million that YNN had put up as guarantee and it also cancelled the contract for the asset purchase agreement with the company.

Actually, YNN’s performance bond was only $11 million but the PSALM board increased this by $3 million to compensate the government for the delay in the delivery of the $277.54 million down payment that, however failed to materialize.

The Masinloc plant remains in government hands and can still be auctioned off, perhaps with the participation of more local and foreign bidders this time. The plant continues to operate and the government continues to earn from the sale of the power that it has been generating.

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