PSALM wants books protected from public scrutiny

The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) wants to keep its financial records safe from public scrutiny and is invoking the confidentiality clause, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said Wednesday. PSALM believes there is a need to keep its books “confidential," according to Francis Saturnino Juan, the ERC executive director. “[PSALM does not] want the loan documents made public, alleging that they contain confidential information," he said. The commission is now deliberating on this request, Juan said. “We’ll be resolving that issue." The commission would try to resolve the issue as soon as possible, he added. The financial records of PSALM, particularly those submitted to the ERC "should be considered public records, because these documents are subject of public hearings," Juan said. Critiques of PSALM scored the agency for its lack of transparency on what happened to the money from the privatization state-owned National Power Corp.'s (Napocor) assets. PSALM was created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 to manage the debts and privatization of Napocor. —VS, GMANews.TV