Philippines: Consumer groups assail tainted Transco bidding

The consumer group POWER and the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan both slammed what they described as “another tainted privatization deal brought to us by Malacañang, at great cost to the consumers.”

This developed after two opposition senators exposed an alleged conflict of interest in the sale of the government-owned National Transmission Corporation or Transco. Senators Aquilino Pimentel and Jamby Madrigal have exposed that Public Sector Assets and Liabilities Management President Jose Ibazeta is a former business associate of two of the bidders in the Transco sale, the Aboitiz and Razon groups.

“That this is yet another tainted privatization deal is really outrageous. Privatizing the Transco is bad enough, but if there are allegations of a rigged bidding process then that is even worse,” said Power convenor Prof. Gani Tapang.

“The Transco is the crown jewel of the power industry. Its infrastructure provides a highway for electricity and other uses. Whoever controls it can impose a ‘toll fee’ on users of this highway. In the hands of private interests, there is always the potential for abuse in the name of greater profits,” Tapang said.

Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr. that it is the consumers who will bear the effects of the privatization of Transco noting that the winning bidders will surely do all they can to recover they investments in the shortest possible time.

“The reason why Transco should remain state-owned is because it has strategic importance for the economy. The argument that the government needs to sell Transco in order to raise funds for debt payments is a grossly myopic view of the problem and will lead to a bigger burden for consumers,” Reyes said.

“We challenge the Energy Committee of both the Senate and Lower House to investigate these serious allegations. We challenge the chair of the Energy Committee in the House of Representatives, Rep. Mikey Arroyo, to inhibit himself from any investigation that may be conducted jointly or separately by the committees of both chambers,” Reyes said.

Reyes said that it was necessary for the young Arroyo to inhibit himself so that there would be no perception of a cover-up because the persons that should be investigated are either appointed by the Palace or have known links with the Arroyos.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: INBOX is an archive of press releases, statements, announcements, letters to the editors, and manifestos sent to PinoyPress for publication. Please email your materials to pinoypress @ gmail.com. PinoyPress is not responsible for the content of these materials. The opinion expessed in these items does not reflect those of PinoyPress and its staff. Please refer to our terms of use/disclaimer.