MANILA -- President Macapagal-Arroyo is willing to meet with the top honcho of the Manila Electric Co., Manuel Lopez, but only if the talks will revolve around lowering power rates, Malacañang said Saturday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Anthony Golez made the disclosure as reports circulated that a meeting between Ms Arroyo and Lopez had in fact been set for Tuesday on the island of Panglao in Bohol.

The President will be holding a Cabinet meeting on that day either at the island resort of Panglao or at the nearby Balicasag island.

Reports have it that Lopez, chair and chief operating officer of the power distribution utility, and Meralco president Jesus Francisco were set to meet the President, after Lopez said in an interview aired by the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN television network that he had no quarrel with Ms Arroyo and that he would like to meet the President to discuss electricity rates and explain Meralco's side.

Asked for confirmation, the usually voluble Secretary Cerge Remonde -- touted to replace outgoing Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye -- kept his lips sealed. But he said energy was one of the items on the agenda.

“Energy is one of the governance themes of the month. Hence, energy is one of the agenda. Whether Lopez is attending or not is something I can neither confirm nor deny,” said Remonde.

“They will be there and I think the President has granted the request for an audience,” a high-placed source told the Inquirer but asked not to be identified since he was not authorized to divulge the meeting.

But the audience with Ms Arroyo comes with a price, the source said.

“The meeting will be in exchange for ABS-CBN’s cooperation,” said the source, pointing that it was an open secret that the Lopez-owned TV network had been critical of the Malacañang occupant.

Golez, for his part, said the dialogue being sought by Lopez was timely.

“But if the objective is to talk to the President about discussions between the Meralco and GSIS, as we have said in the very beginning, that matter is between the GSIS and Meralco. But if the objective is to talk about lowering the rate, then the President is very much welcome to talk,” said Golez.

Asked if Lopez’s motive was to negotiate a modus vivendi with the GSIS, which has asked for a leadership change at the power distributor, Golez said he could not second-guess what Lopez would tell the President.

“First of all, what is important is the objective of the President to lower the power rate (for the benefit) of our countrymen. That's the number one objective,” he said.

He said Ms Arroyo would not interfere in the leadership change being sought by GSIS.