Interim emergency powers

By Manila Standard Today | Sep. 19, 2014 at 12:01am

The logic for giving President Benigno Aquino III emergency powers to avert a looming energy crisis is not clear at the moment, at least in the eyes of Congress.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla failed so far to define the scope of the emergency powers he is seeking for the President. Nor was he convincing in his request to grant the powers to President Aquino for one year.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago warned that President Aquino could become dictatorial if Congress gave him emergency powers for more than half a year to address the impending power crisis. The senator argued that a six-month period was enough, citing the time limit allowed by the Constitution on emergency powers.

Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, meanwhile, said the House could hardly commit to any timeline on a joint resolution until it knew what the President was seeking. Gonzales also wants an assurance that the emergency powers to be given to President would not translate into higher electricity rates for consumers.

Malacañang essentially wants emergency powers to contract additional power capacity from the private sector because the Electric Power Industrial Reform Act forbids the government from generally intervening in the sector again. The Epira imposed the limit after the previous state intervention resulted in a mismanaged power industry and put the fiscal house in disarray.

The re-entry of the government in the power sector could also cost the government and worsen the finances of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., which has been managing the remaining power assets of the state.

Malacañang and Petilla, thus, must provide the details of their request to grant emergency powers to President Aquino. Such powers must also be limited because the power crisis is only confined to the dry months of next year. New power plants are about to be finished starting next year to alleviate the situation.

The government, in the meantime, should clear the bottlenecks in building power plants in the Philippines—from the intrusive judicial system and overeager environment advocates to the parochial local government unit hosts. The looming energy crisis could have been averted had the government been more proactive in the power industry. source