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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider "Para serbisyo ang unahin": Castro says gov't should take over power sector

"Para serbisyo ang unahin": Castro says gov't should take over power sector

Published Jan 10, 2024 05:16 am

At A Glance

  • After the three-day power outage in Western Visayas, House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro suggests that "it's best to nationalize power industry than rely on greed-driven private sector" to shift priority from profit to service.
  • Castro has called out NGCP and distribution utilities, MORE Electric and POWER Corp., for their supposed refusal to be accountable for the widespread power outage.

IMG-2a307cff0f61facfe2af960c667912c1-V.jpgACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (PPAB)

To prioritize service over profit, House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro has espoused proposals to nationalize the power industry.

Castro says that the option of a State takeover is better than "[relying] on [the] greed-driven private sector”.

“Mas mahusay pa talaga na inasyunalisa na ang buong power industry para serbisyo ang unahin, kung pumalpak man ay agad na mapapanagot. Hindi puro turuan at palusot ang gagawin,” Castro said in a statement on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

(It's better for the entire power industry to get nationalized so that service comes first; if it fails, someone will be immediately held accountable. It's not just finger-pointing and making excuses.)

This, after provinces in Western Visayas experienced a three-day power interruption. The outage, which adversely affected residents, was due to the unplanned shutdowns of power generators, according to the National Grid Corporation of the Philipines (NGCP).

Castro has called out NGCP, distribution utilities (DU), MORE Electric and POWER Corp., for their supposed refusal to own up to the widespread power outage.

“Kapag may pumalpak tulad ng nangyaring blackout ay maghuhugas kamay ang lahat samantalang ang tatlong components na ito ng electricity sector ay magkakaugnay at may mga paraan para iwasan o limitahan ang nangyaring blackout," the teacher-solon said.

(When something happens like the recent blackout, everyone will wash their hands, even if these three components of the electricity sector are interconnected and have ways to avoid or limit the blackout.)

Castro pointed out several issues that the NGCP and the DUs were unable to act on; these include inadequate generation companies, limited grid monitoring, failure to operationalize preventive measures, and the shortage of protective mechanisms.

Several lawmakers in the House of Representatives are now calling for the review of the franchise of the NGCP, even to the point of revocation.

“Alam natin na may mga naglalaway na oligarchs na malapit sa [Malacañang] na gustong makuha ang prangkisa ng NGCP kaya dapat nating bantayan ito dahil magpalit man ng may-ari yan basta tubo at kita lang ang habol ay bulok pa din ang serbisyong mangyayari,” she stressed.

(We know that there are drooling oligarchs close to Malacañang who want to get the NGCP franchise, so we must monitor this because even if there's a change in ownership, for as long as revenue and profits are the priority, the service will still be rotten.)

Related Tags

act teachers party-list Power outage FRANCE CASTRO National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP)
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