Boo Chanco’s revisionist folly

Boo Chanco, while incessantly berating President Noynoy’s record since assuming the presidency, in his STAR column of March 11, likewise lambasted Cory Aquino’s legacy as President. Out of the blue, Chanco with utter pomposity sermonized, “Worse of all, bad energy planning led to crippling power brownouts (this I fault Joker Arroyo and his Upsilon brods).”

How could Mr. Chanco make such blanket accusation in the face of empirical facts. I was appointed by President Cory as executive secretary right after EDSA, in February 1986. I asked to be relieved in February 1987, after the Constitution was ratified, and left Malacanang in September 1987, after Congress had convened.

The power blackout started in late 1989, a good two years after.

What grates is Chanco’s devious attempt at revisionism, to cover-up for the mess in the energy sector during martial law. On Nov. 7, 1972, one and a half months after martial law was imposed, President Marcos issued PD 40 which granted National Power Corp. (NPC) a monopoly in power generation and transmission and set up transmission line grids and related facilities. In short, anyone can engage in electricity business but must purchase that electricity from NPC and no other.

This was followed further by PD 1360 to further strengthen NPC.

Came EDSA, the newly installed Cory administration discovered that NPC was the most heavily indebted government entity, which constituted the new government’s heaviest financial burden inherited from the Marcos administration.

Where was Boo Chanco while all these were going on? Mr. Chanco had a ringside seat, safely ensconced in the Ministry of Energy during the martial law years as director of public affairs, doing propaganda work for the power sector.

He watched everything, he knew everything! We are, to the present day, still paying for the NPC debts. And now, Chanco, to camouflage 14 years of bad planning and the woefully inadequate power infrastructure under the dictatorship, turns the table around and says bad planning by the fresh Cory administration caused the blackouts!

Cory responded to the energy problem by enacting EO 20 on June 19, 1986 “placing the office, agencies and corporations attached to the Ministry of Energy under the administration of the Office of the President.” Under this mandate, the NPC, by then dismally debt-ridden, and the PNOC, the only Philippine company consistently listed in Fortune’s 500 Top Companies (under Geronimo Velasco’s watch) were placed under the supervision of the Office of the President. Then she appointed Ting Paterno, Deputy Executive Secretary for Energy and required his attendance in all cabinet meetings as a full member.

This was followed by the creation of the Office of Energy Affairs and the dismantling of the monopoly granted to NPC thereby allowing the private sector to engage in power generation under EO 215.

And how did the Upsilon, the UP fraternity of Marcos and Ninoy figure in Chanco’s wild perversion of the truth on the energy situation then? During Cory’s term the Upsilonians in government were few. None of them were involved in energy planning. Doy Laurel was Vice President and Foreign Secretary and Sotero Laurel was senator. Catalino Macaraig became Executive Secretary. Ed Espiritu, president of Metro Bank was recruited to untangle the debts of NPC and thereafter, to assume the PNB presidency.

Manny Estrella, an engineer, senior partner in SGV and a consultant to the Indonesian Government, was recalled home to be president of PNOC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Petron. Danny Gozo, an advertising executive was appointed Deputy Press Secretary. Ed Zialcita was appointed chairman of the Reclamation Project. There was no Upsilon appointee in the energy sector of the government.

There is a Latin maxim, “falsus in unum, falsus in omnibus” - false in one, false in all. That mirrors Boo Chanco. JOKER P. ARROYO