Energy Department retains Tampinco as Napocor chief

To ensure that operations of the National Power Corp. will continue without disruptions, the Energy Department will retain Froilan Tampinco as president of the state-owned power producer. "The President said he wanted me to make sure that there is enough energy – whether it is electricity or fuel – and that the pricing is at its best optimal level, meaning not too high or not too low but fair enough to encourage investments and at the same time not create too much social upheaval, and for us to put together a really good plan," Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said Tuesday. The energy sector is an "on-going concern," unlike in other agencies "wherein if you do something like that you only stop the flow of paper. In our case, it may mean stopping the flow of energy which is not the most ideal thing," the energy chief said. "And that is why I have recommended keeping Tampinco on board as president of Napocor. He tendered his resignation to me a few times, and since I [didn't accept] it, he gave it to my staff. I have to reply in 15 days. At any rate we are saying that we want to keep stability for the time being," Almendras said. A fourth-rank CESO holder, Tampinco is Napocor president since October 2008. Prior to that he served as vice president of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. —VS, GMANews.TV