Dads say deal letting firm run Pantabangan power shady
Six of the 10 councilors of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, have questioned what they described as a takeover of the Pantabangan Municipal Electric System (Pames) by a private firm.
Six of the 10 councilors of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, have questioned what they described as a takeover of the Pantabangan Municipal Electric System (Pames) by a private firm.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) stands to lose some P114 million a year in revenues when it implements a highly questionable contract that privatizes the operations of its Baligatan mini-hydropower plant in Ramon town, Isabela, documents received by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee have showed.
Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. on Friday said he would oppose bills seeking the privatization of government-owned hospitals as this would deprive the poor access to free hospital services.
Some patients in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City expressed opposition to plans to privatize the state-run hospital.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is opposing the proposed privatization of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
Government’s plan to privatize the century-old Kennon Road may result in high toll, which no Baguio and Benguet resident living along the zigzag road could afford, local officials said.
People in Mindanao, from politicians to businessmen to advocacy groups, strongly opposed the impending sale of Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants, and urged the government to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
The Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (Amreco) is asking the government to ensure that whoever buys two hydroelectric power plants that it reportedly plans to sell will not raise power rates for 20 years following the sale.
MANILA, Philippines—Employees of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office launched Friday a silent protest against Senator Franklin Drilon’s proposal to privatize the agency’s lottery operations.
Almost 95 percent of the employees at the PCSO main office at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City wore red shirts carrying statements that reflect their sentiments, said Chris Bautista, president of the agency’s employees’ union.
“We intend to do this every Friday and eventually, we will include employees assigned in PCSO offices in the provinces,” he told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
The PCSO employees union has over 1,500 members.
The slogans written on their shirts included “No to privatization,” “Yes to cautious investigation and disposition of cases,” “Yes to reforms,” “No to corruption, misuse and abuse of PCSO funds,” “No to tarnishing PCSO image,” “No to corruption,” “Yes to Charter improvement,” “Yes to medical assistance to charitable institutions and indigents.”
Drilon earlier said that the lotto operations should be privatized to prevent misuse of government intelligence funds supposedly to curb the illegal numbers game “jueteng.”
He said that once the lottery is privatized, the government would then serve as a regulatory agency that will simply collect a set franchise fee from whoever will win the bidding to operate the lotto.
PCSO is the operator and regulator of gambling in the Philippines. Aside from lotto, it operates sweepstakes and races to raise funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and other charity works.
It is currently under fire following allegations of questionable spending of intelligence funds, advertising overspending and giving of luxury vehicles to Catholic bishops during the Arroyo administration.
Bautista, assigned at the agency’s internal audit department, said the PCSO management had been informed about their move.
“Maghinay-hinay daw kami kasi baka mas mapabilis pa daw yung plano na isa-pribado ang PCSO [They told us to go easy on our actions because this might only speed up plans to privatize the agency],” he said.
“But we’re doing this as part of our freedom of expression. We want to show solidarity as an institution,” he said, adding that they were ready to take more drastic action if the privatization plan pushed through without them being consulted.
Bautista said they opposed Drilon’s proposal because of various reasons, including the possibility of employees losing their jobs.
“For sure the private company will hire their own employees. So what will now happen to us?” he said.
“Senator Drilon wants government to bid out PCSO operations and collect fixed franchise fees that go directly to the national treasury. That means lawmakers will be the ones to decide how these funds should be allocated. But they may allocate these funds for other purposes, that’s not far-fetched. If that happens, what will happen to the poor and other charitable institutions that depend on PCSO? Isn’t the main mandate of the PCSO to provide medical assistance to indigent Filipinos? This proposal is very disadvantageous for them,” Bautista added.
The Department of Justice on Thursday thumbed down a proposal made by Quezon Representative Danilo Suarez to privatize the New Bilibid Prison in the wake of a recent scandal involving out-of-prison escapades of an influential convicted killer.
