Duterte downplays alleged China control of NGCP
MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte downplayed Thursday the alleged Chinese control of the country’s power grid, noting that the military can handle whatever security issues it will pose.
“May mga security issues (There are security issues but) that can be handled by the military…cannot be a problem,” Duterte told reporters in Malacañang.
“Ako yung tower, pasabugin ko lang yun, putulin ko yung kable, tapos na,” he added. (I would just order the military to blast the tower or cut the cable and it’s done.)
Several lawmakers have called for an urgent review of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) arrangement amid reports that only Chinese engineers had access to key elements of the power grid’s system, and that power it could be shut down remotely on China’s orders.
NGCP, founded in 2009 through the Republic Act 9511, is in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the Philippines’ state-owned power grid. It is a consortium of three corporations, namely, Monte Oro Grid Resources Corporation, Calaca High Power Corporation, and the State Grid Corporation of China.
The state-owned electric utility monopoly of China reportedly has a 40-percent stake in the NGCP.
The issue, according to the President, “is not a brief for China.”
“I do not have that capability. I cannot fight China because I do not have the armaments. And China has talked to us through me, kulang ba ang Pilipino ng trust, but I trust them,” he said.
“I take their word for it.”
