MWSS, two other groups to block Angat Dam privatization

Despite their different points of view, a government water agency, a water utility firm, and a non-government organization may soon find themselves uniting behind one cause. All three groups — the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Maynilad Water Services Inc., and the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) — are seeking to cancel the sale of Angat dam, Metro Manila’s primary source of potable water. The privatization of Angat dam — a facility that includes a hydroelectric power plant — has already been stopped by the Supreme Court on May 24 after the FDC filed an appeal. For its part, the MWSS has expressed its intent to take over Angat dam’s operations from the National Power Corp. (NAPOCOR), in an announcement made two weeks ago when half of Metro Manila was rendered waterless for more than a day due to dwindling water supply. The MWSS “will resurrect a proposal to manage Angat dam," a high-ranking water official told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. As early as three years ago, a similar proposal was already approved by then-Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., the official said. However, it was later disapproved by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), an agency tasked to sell the government’s power plants, including Angat. Angat’s operations — especially regarding the release of water — remain with NAPOCOR, which, in turn, is guided by a set of rules drafted by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB). “The MWSS Board of Trustees will meet on Monday so that it can ask DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson to recommend the transfer of control from the NAPOCOR to the MWSS," the official added. Meanwhile, Maynilad “feels the same sentiment," Maynilad’s chief operating officer Herbert Consunji told GMANews.TV in a separate phone interview. The company has requested the MWSS to protect and secure water supplies, he added. Consunji is also Maynilad’s officer-in-charge after its president, Rogelio Singson, resigned when he decided to accept Malacañang’s offer to serve as DPWH Secretary. Group seeks EPIRA review However, the agreement of the three groups end there. After all, the FDC, which remains critical of the MWSS and Maynilad, is seeking to “suspend the sale of all remaining National Power Corp. (Napocor) assets." Instead of selling the remaining power plants, the government should “undertake a comprehensive review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA)," the non-government group said in a statement. The review panel, which should include consumers, should look into the reasons why electricity rates keep on rising, among others, the FDC said. However, as far as PSALM is concerned, power privatization is allowed by law. “The privatization of these assets is mandated by law, namely the EPIRA," Conrad Tolentino, PSALM vice president for asset management and electricity trading, said in an email message to GMANews.TV. “The statement seems to be based on a study or analysis by FDC. I wish I could see that because I truly want to understand FDC's rationale for wanting to suspend the privatization of PSALM assets," he added. The FDC sought the review after the PSALM postponed the auction of the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) contract covering the 640-MW Unified Leyte Geothermal. The winner of the IPPA contract would have been allowed to control, trade, and sell electricity produced by the Leyte facility. “It will be truly judicious if all scheduled asset sale of PSALM is put on hold indefinitely and a review process on EPIRA set into motion," said Milo Tanchuling, FDC secretary-general, in the same statement. He added that not only was fraud committed in the process of privatization, but also the EPIRA “created more problems in the industry rather than ride out the debt and power crisis that it intends to resolve during its nine years of implementation." Besides the Unified Leyte geothermal, the FDC said it also opposed the privatization of the Agus-Pulangi hydro complexes in Mindanao. “The association of all electric cooperatives in regions 6, 7 and 8, on July 19, 2010 had likewise asked the High Court to issue an injunction for the July 30 auction of the unified Leyte geothermal plants," the group added.—JV, GMANews.TV