Making it clear on his stance on NGCP ownership, President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. said the Philippine government will take back NGCP, if necessary. This strong and loaded statement is the giant snowball that garnered size from the top of an icy mountain, which gained momentum from months of animosity surrounding the disputed islands located in the West Philippine Sea, coupled with the recently concluded successful State Visit at the United States.
Without a doubt, the Philippines cannot fight back at the seas. Our dilapidated military forces at the sea are of no match against the state-of-the-art Chinese military and the well-equipped artificial islands that cropped up in the West Philippine Sea. It is of no use as well to renege against the Chinese businesses that have brought in income to our shores. The best we can do is to take back our nationally owned franchises to ensure these belong to Filipinos, without threat to security, and to guarantee that income remains within the Philippines, for the benefit of the Filipinos.
Some people have said that the NGCP is the “sweetest deal” you can get from the government. With 40 percent ownership by the State Grid of Corporation of China, this minority stake is of a considerable amount. The Filipinos behind NGCP are likewise tycoons with the likes of Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyuito Jr., but we have yet to find out who really makes the decisions in the boardroom — is it the 60 percent majority or the 40 percent minority? Notably, the Chairman of NGCP is Zhu Guangchao from the State Grid Corporation of China.
Both Houses of Congress are conducting their own independent inquiries on this matter. Since this involves legislation, the Senate and the House must be amenable to how to move forward. The leader of the charge is Senator Raffy Tulfo, who made it public that he has the go-signal from the President to make a deep inquiry on the matter. This can be his most important task yet, among all the investigations he dipped his toes in.
Legislators generally are open to the thorough review of the NGCP charter, except Senator Chiz Escudero, who said that this may be highly costly to the government. He said policy buy-backs can be destabilizing — this may be true but the long-term effects should be considered with having a China-owned government entity knowing 40 percent of the company that manages the main power grid of the entire Philippines. Government buy-backs are also nothing new in the Philippines.
National franchises are granted by way of privilege, not right. Thus, these may be revoked at will by the government. NGCP has been in existence for only 14 years, and its operation must at all times be open to review by the government. The insinuation by the officers of the National Transmission Corporation or TransCo made during a Senate inquiry that NGCP has refused an audit is a strong accusation, considering that the two parties have a concession agreement with each other.
The tussle between TransCo and NGCP is well documented but was low-key during the period of extremely good relations between China and the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. Now that we are in the better graces of the US, our legislators are barking what they failed to bark before. This debacle is one to watch closely and its resolution will set a remarkable precedent for national franchises to be awarded for the years to come, at least, until 2028.
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