Aquino amenable to the review of Epira law

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III said he was in favor of reviewing the Energy and Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) but in the meantime he would appeal to the Commission on Audit to act faster on legal issues that have prevented the operation of the Iligan Diesel Power Plant in Mindanao.

“On the part of the executive, we also want to review the Epira law. It’s time to reevaluate whether it has attained what it was supposed to attain,” President Aquino said during the Mindanao energy summit on Friday.

Mindanao energy industry stakeholders were vocal against the Epira law’s focus on the privatization of energy plants. On the other hand, Aquino’s energy secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras had said Mindanao’s exemption from Epira’s privatization thrust was partly to blame for the southern region’s current power woes.

Mr. Aquino, during the open forum, said the Epira should be reviewed on whether or not its goals—such as a more efficient power sector and cheaper electric rates—have been achieved.

The President had frankly told Mindanao energy industry leaders that they would simply have to pay more for electricity like the rest of Filipinos in Visayas and Luzon.

Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad, chair of the House committee on energy, said Congress is already conducting a review of the Epira. He added that what was needed were “studied amendments” and not “immediate reactions” to the current crisis in Mindanao.

The chief executive also pledged to help speed up decision making on the operation of a diesel power plant in Iligan to immediately ease the power crisis in Mindanao.

The plant, recently sold to a private company, can provide 100 megawatts more to the Mindanao grid but the tax and bidding issues on the sale are still under review by state auditors.

“As soon as I get back I will personally ask COA to expedite their processes so that we can proceed,” President Aquino said during the summit held in Davao City.

“We’ve been talking to them and they are aware of the problems. And they’re Filipinos who have compassion for their fellow Filipinos. I’m sure they will not increase the burden,” he added.

President Aquino, however, stressed that the COA, as a constitutional body, is independent from the executive branch. “We will request them to expedite,” he said.

Mindanao is experiencing five- to six-hour rotating brownouts, severely affecting industries there.  The administration has approved private coal-powered plants and the rehabilitation of hydroelectric power plants but says results will only kick in by 2014.

A statement by Conal Holdings, the company that acquired the Iligan plant, said the facility could be made operational in just a couple of months. “(It) can be operational in two months,” stated Tirso Santillan, chief operating officer of Conal Holdings, the energy investment arm of the Alcantara group.

The Iligan diesel power plant was sold to Conal Holdings Corp. after it was acquired from another entity due to a tax delinquency. The sale is under review by the COA.