By Charissa Luci and Mario B. Casayuran
Manila, Philippines – Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Zenaida Cruz Ducut was a no-show yesterday at the House Committee on Energy hearing looking into the huge increase in generation charges that will be collected by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) from its customers.
With the snub of the House inquiry, Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV said he would move for the issuance of a subpoena to Ducut should she boycott tomorrow morning’s public hearing by the Senate Committee on Energy on the “record-breaking” increase in generation charge granted by the ERC. Ducut was invited by Sen. Sergio R. Osmeña III, Energy Committee chairman, to the Senate to explain why the ERC approved the rate increase.
Arrest Awaits Ducut
If she refused to attend the Senate after being subpoenaed, Trillanes said he would have the former Pampanga congresswoman arrested based on the rules of the Senate.
Aside from Ducut, the Osmeña committee also sent invitations to other power players to appear tomorrow. They are Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jericho Petilla and the heads of Meralco, Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), Power Sector Assets Liabilities and Management (PSALM), and of the generating companies.
They were invited on suspicions that there was collusion among the power sector players because of their sudden increase in generation charges following the failure of the Malampaya gas fields to supply gas when it went into a regular maintenance program.
Aside from the Malampaya gas, power generating plants in the Meralco franchise area use bunker fuel to power their plants.
Show Some Respect
At the Lower House, lawmakers called on Ducut to show some respect to Congress after she snubbed its hearing on the power rate increase as well as the reported five-percent kickback she demanded for every pork barrel project she delivered to detained businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.
ACT party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares asked the House Committee on Energy to compel Ducut’s attendance in its hearing after the snub.
“This is the second hearing of the committee that she was not here. Let us note in today’s headlines that she is considered as an agent of Janet Lim Napoles in the pork barrel scam and she received a five-percent commission from the PDAF projects. I think this has bearing on the integrity of the ERC being the foremost guardian of the people’s interest in the energy sector,” Tinio told the panel, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali.
“We urge the committee as soon as possible to make sure that the Commissioner appears before the committee and hear her response,” he said.
Personal Appearance
Umali said his panel will demand Ducut to be “personally present” in its hearings as they are committed to continuously pursue Meralco’s P4.15 per kilowatt per hour (kWh) power rate increase. He noted that it was the third time that they invited Ducut to attend their hearing.
But instead of attending the hearing, Ducut, who was appointed as ERC chairman in 2008 by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, sent ERC Executive Director Francis Juan who explained his boss’ absence.
“We regret that the Chair cannot make it because she has meeting in the Commission and it is convened on Monday and an important agenda will be discussed,” Juan told the lawmakers.
Colmenares said if Ducut, who served as Pampanga representative from 1995 to 2004, cannot attend hearings, she should relinquish her post.
Better Resign
“The Legislative should not take up the cudgels, let them defend themselves. If she cannot attend hearing, she could probably resign na lang. The heads of agencies should be here because there is no blanket immunity that they cannot attend hearings,” he said.
Meanwhile, Umali said the Senate will pursue the investigation next year amid the Senate inquiry and probe being conducted by the DOJ and the Department of Energy (DOE).
“The House Committee on Energy will continue to investigate the rate increases,” he said.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima also directed the DOJ’s Office for Competition (OFC) to conduct the probe on the alleged collusion following the simultaneous “unprogrammed” outages launched by power plant operators.
Umali said they will resume the probe next year after the DOE, ERC, and the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) completes its tripartite probe on December 30.
“We have tasked DOE, ERC and PEMC to complete their investigation so we will have better basis to make our conclusion when we meet on the same matter next year,” Umali said.
Petilla directed an investigation into this alleged collusion, saying the DOE only anticipated a P1.58 per kilowatt hour hike and not P4.15 per kilowatt hour adjustment which was imposed by Meralco.
He said the investigation is ongoing and that the tripartite team is set to finish its investigation by December 30.
Legal Review
Umali also asked concerned government officials to expeditiously conduct their legal review on whether or not the Aquino government could use the P130-billion Malamapaya funds to subsidize the P4.15 per kilowatt hour hike imposed by Meralco.
He said the government should exhaust all means to give relief to five million consumers following the power rate adjustments imposed by Meralco from December until March next year.
“I am appealing to concerned officials to expedite their legal review. I am not sure if the SC (Supreme Court) really tied hands of the President. This is now being studied, but am certain that this subsidy is energy-related,” he said.
President Benigno S. Aquino III had earlier directed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Petilla, De Lima, and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Alfredo Caguiao “to review if we can use the Malampaya funds to cushion the impact” of the power hike on the public.
“It is in the decision that Malampaya can and should be used for energy-related programs and projects,” Umali pointed out. source
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