‘Standby power’ instead of emergency power for Aquino–Escudero

MANILA, Philippines — Instead of emergency power, a senator on Wednesday proposed granting a “standby power” for President Benigno Aquino III to address the power crisis in Mindanao.

“I am willing to give the President more than emergency powers given the gravity of the present situation,” Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said in a statement.

“He should be granted standby power in case of extraordinary situations that he can exercise at his own sound discretion without having to run to Congress every now and then and wait for its imprimatur,” he said.

The standby power, Escudero said, should only be temporary meant to provide immediate remedies in cases of national power emergencies.

It should also be defined within the framework of extreme circumstances and limitations.

But Escudero said the standby power should ensure that it would not replicate same mistakes of the past where instead of finding solutions, people were made to suffer more.

The senator then cited the experience in 1992 where the country was plunged into a severe power crisis which led then President Fidel Ramos to seek emergency powers from Congress to deal with the problem.

Forty independent power producers, Escudero pointed out, signed contracts with the take or pay provisions with the government, which only spawned an oversupply of power plants and forced consumers to shoulder energy costs that they did not use.

“This power crisis in Mindanao is one of those extraordinary circumstances that calls for extraordinary power,” Escudero said.

“Its impact and its consequences are already felt by every single resident. If long-term solution is not yet readily available in the nearest time frame, then let an immediate remedy be readily provided,” he said.

The standby power of the President, Escudero said, can very well address the valid issue on pricing.

“He can impose a price cap to avoid market failure,” said the senator.

“Fears of monopoly and skyrocketing power prices grip our Mindanao residents aside from the already tenuous power supply issue. But the President can prevent this from happening with the said standby powers and calm the edgy residents,” Escudero added.

Escudero filed a resolution last week, asking the Senate committee on energy to look into the real power situation in Mindanao.