By
Lenie Lectura - February 6, 2020
The National
Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) insists that it employs no
foreigners in executive and management positions amid claims by lawmakers that
it hired foreign nationals in the past.
NGCP President and CEO
Anthony L. Almeda said the company has always been diligent in implementing its
board and management directives. Almeda said it does so with the “utmost regard
for the law, and other rules and regulations.”
Also, he said all
corporate acts of the NGCP comply with the Constitution and other laws.
During a hearing last
Monday, Senators claimed that the NGCP violated the Constitution by employing
foreign nationals in executive and management positions, referring to Wen Bo
and Liu Zhiaoquiang.
The hearing was set by
the Senate Committee on Energy amid national security concerns raised by Sen.
Sherwin Gatchalian over China’s acquisition of a 40-percent stake in the
country’s lone transmission line.
Almeda said Bo and Liu
left the country in 2018 and 2015, respectively. “They held technical positions
in the company.”
At present, Almeda said
there are four directors sitting on the board from the State Grid Corporation
of China who do not perform executive or management functions.
He added that any audit
of the NGCP should be conducted by the proper regulatory agency, which in this
case is the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the independent body tasked by
law and recognized by the Concession Agreement.
Energy Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi reiterated his long-standing call to conduct a full audit on
the NGCP.
“We are hopeful that
this hearing will finally put to rest the pending issues we have with the NGCP,
so we could finally eliminate doubts concerning the integrity of the
Corporation,” said Cusi.
“On the matter of
national security, conducting a thorough inspection of the NGCP remains
critical to ensuring that the best interests of our consumers are being
upheld,” he added.
On its website, NGCP
said it is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining,
and developing the country’s state-owned power grid, an interconnected system
that transmits gigawatts of power at thousands of volts from where it is made
to where it is needed.
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