Published February 16, 2017, 10:01
PM By Myrna
M. Velasco
Facility owner National Transmission
Corporation (TransCo) is requiring concessionaire National Grid Corporation of
the Philippines (NGCP) to submit inventory of all right-of-way (ROW)
acquisitions linked to implementation of all transmission projects.
“To start the documentation process
for the transfer of the title, we request NGCP to provide us with a complete
list/inventory of properties acquired in the name of NGCP, along with copies of
land titles and right-of-way (ROW) grants, on a per project basis,” TransCo and
privatization firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation
(PSALM) have stipulated in a letter to NGCP President Henry T. Sy Jr.
Such directive was also re-stated by
TransCo President Melvin A. Matibag, in the company’s bid to ensure that these
acquired properties are properly titled under the name of the state-owned firm
— in keeping with the provisions of Section 5.01 of their Concession Agreement.
He stressed that while the “power of
eminent domain” had been re-assigned to NGCP under its franchise, the titles of
the properties acquired for transmission projects must still be with the
government through TransCo.
In future expropriation proceedings,
Matibag indicated that TransCo may also file motions for intervention as may be
warranted in specific cases.
Circling back to the TransCo-PSALM
letter to NGCP, the government insisted that in properties’ acquisition
resulting from expropriation cases, “TransCo shall retain title to all
easements, right-of-way or other real estate interest, including documented
property rights acquired by the Concessionaire.”
The state-run firms added “the
transfer of title to properties to TransCo should commence upon unitization of
a project,” and such “should be observed by NGCP religiously.”
They stressed that “while we
acknowledge the privilege granted by the Franchise Law to NGCP to acquire
properties in its name invoking the power of eminent domain, titles to the
properties should immediately be transferred to TransCo.”
NGCP is also required to “bear all
costs/ expenses incurred pertaining to the transfer of titles in the name of
TransCo.”
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