MANILA, Philippines—The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) and five co-petitioners have asked the Supreme Court (SC) to permanently ban the privatization of a 218-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in the Angat Dam in Bulacan.
The High Court last year had issued a status quo ante order preventing the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) from awarding the project to Korea Water Resources Corp (K-Water) in response to a memorandum filed by the same group.
On Thursday, the group asked the High Court for a permanent ban and to declare null and void the bidding process that gave the K-water the right to operate the plant.
Aside from FDC, the other petitioners are the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (Ideals Inc); Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party; the Alliance of Progressive Labor, and Rep. Walden Bello.
The petitioners said Psalm acted with “grave abuse of discretion” when it conducted the Angat power plant bidding without adequate public disclosures, and “pursuing (it) in secrecy, in disregard of the people’s right to information.”
They said the bidding was held “under circumstances that demonstrate a clear and wanton violation of the petitioners’ right to water and other guarantees under the law and the Constitution, including its national patrimony provisions.”
They said Psalm failed to make public the terms and conditions of the sale and the identities and qualifications of bidders, including winning bidder K-water.
The High Court last year had issued a status quo ante order preventing the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) from awarding the project to Korea Water Resources Corp (K-Water) in response to a memorandum filed by the same group.
On Thursday, the group asked the High Court for a permanent ban and to declare null and void the bidding process that gave the K-water the right to operate the plant.
Aside from FDC, the other petitioners are the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (Ideals Inc); Akbayan Citizen’s Action Party; the Alliance of Progressive Labor, and Rep. Walden Bello.
The petitioners said Psalm acted with “grave abuse of discretion” when it conducted the Angat power plant bidding without adequate public disclosures, and “pursuing (it) in secrecy, in disregard of the people’s right to information.”
They said the bidding was held “under circumstances that demonstrate a clear and wanton violation of the petitioners’ right to water and other guarantees under the law and the Constitution, including its national patrimony provisions.”
They said Psalm failed to make public the terms and conditions of the sale and the identities and qualifications of bidders, including winning bidder K-water.
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