Villar, other NP bets reject emergency powers for Arroyo

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—There is no need for the President to assume emergency powers as she already has sufficient authority to address the looming power crisis, the Nacionalista Party led by its standard bearer Senator Manuel Villar Jr. said Saturday. The party also expressed fears that the grant of emergency powers to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would lead to abuses, as what allegedly happened in 1992 when the country was hit with extensive brownouts due to a similar power shortage. During that time, then-President Fidel Ramos had pushed for the speedy approval of deals and contracts with independent power producers—including, reportedly, some of the most expensive power supply arrangements that resulted in exorbitant prices of electricity. "Naniniwala ako na hindi na kailangan ng emergency powers para mabigyan ng aksyon o maharap o mabigyan ng resolusyon ito (I believe that emergency powers are not needed to act on and resolve this crisis)," Villar told reporters in a press conference here after his meeting with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. He also pushed for a “better implementation" of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to address the structural problems of the power industry. "Sulyapan natin ang implementasyon ng EPIRA law. May mga intensyon sa batas na yan na hindi naiimplementa nang maayos, nadelay. Dapat talagang isulong ang implementasyon ng EPIRA. Merong mga structural na problema ang ating power industry," Villar said. (Let’s look into the implementation of the EPIRA law. That law intended some things that are not being implemented properly, or were delayed. We should really push for EPIRA’s implementation, as our power industry has structural problems.) Other NP bets question Arroyo intent Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, guest candidate in the NP senatorial slate, expressed surprise that it was Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (PMP, Cagayan de Oro), who also belongs to the minority bloc in the Lower House, who made the proposal. "That was the situation in 1992 when Fidel Ramos was president. Now we don’t want a repeat of that… the proposal must be studied carefully," he said. Another guest senatorial candidate in the NP slate, Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, expressed fear that President Arroyo may use her emergency powers, if granted, to enter into midnight deals three months before her term ends. NP senatorial bets Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and NP spokesman Gilbert Remulla both said if there is indeed a power crisis it is because of the negligence of the administration, although they also suspect that the supposed power crisis is part of the administration’s attempt to condition the minds of the people. "Why suddenly now that we have automation that requires electrical power to function properly…we have had El Nino’s before, but why only now that El Nino’s will cut the power. Especially, there will be blackouts during the elections. This is suspicious, is this conditioning the people?" Marcos said. He added: "If that is the case, and you add special powers in an election season, you have a very dangerous situation, prone to abuse and we have seen that this administration is not coy to abuse powers, emergency or otherwise." Senatorial candidate Susan Ople, for her part, said that what the government should do is to provide safety nets for sectors affected by the energy crisis, such as "the farmers, fisherfolk and workers situated in places where power supply is rotated and experiences intermittent power failures because of the crisis," particularly those in the Visayas and Mindanao.—JV, GMANews.TV