Malacañang’s bailout of Pagbilao power plant denounced as ‘immoral’

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THURSDAY, 20 JANUARY 2011 20:23 FERNAN MARASIGAN / REPORTER

“IMMORAL, unjust, illegal and a bad precedent for present and future public-private partnership [PPP] projects.”

This was how a member of the House of Representatives described on Thursday the planned P6-billion bailout of the former Mirant coal-power plant in Pagbilao, Quezon.

Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna made the statement after Malacañang announced that in lieu of paying Quezon province the P6-billion tax liabilities now owed by Team Energy 2, the province will instead get P6 billion worth of government projects.

 “This is a clear and blatant bailout of a foreign private corporation using taxpayers’ money.  It is Mirant and Team Energy that should pay the tax, not the Filipino people,” Casiño, chairman of the House Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, said.

The legislator said he feared that under the Aquino administration’s policy on the PPP, more private debts would be guaranteed and assumed by the people.

“The P6-billion bailout of Team Energy by the national government is especially deplorable considering that the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] is now targeting even market venders and tricycle drivers in its tax drive. Why is it that the small fry are pursued while the big fish are bailed out?” Casino asked.

Malacañang’s move was to avert the plan of the Quezon government to auction the 700-megawatt coal-fed Pagbilao power plant in the province. Gov. David Suarez and Mr. Aquino agreed to come up with a compromise in settling P6 billion in real-estate tax liabilities owed by those running the power facility there.

“The President spoke to Governor Suarez and they’re working out the details of a compromise, but the broadstrokes of it are that the province of Quezon will receive funds,” Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang was quoted in reports.

But Carandang said the Quezon government would not get the entire P6 billion.

 The coal facility had been scheduled for auction by the Office of the Municipal Treasurer of Pagbilao on January 26.

According to the Aboitiz Power Corp. (APC), the power plant “was subjected to a warrant of levy” issued by the municipal treasurer of Pagbilao, Quezon, on January 10 for nonpayment of real-property taxes on the power plant.

Had the auction pushed through, Team Energy Corp., owner and operator of the Pagbilao facility, would have had only a year from the date of sale to redeem the plant, pursuant to Section 179 of the Local Government Code.