Escudero warns gov’t vs NGCP buyback: Policy U-turns can be destabilizing

MANILA, Philippines— Senator  Francis Escudero is opposing  proposals to buy back the government’s 40 percent stake in the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), warning that “policy U-turns can be destabilizing and surely expensive.”

“I don’t support it. Not until I read the fine print and subject it to a thorough study,” Escudero said.

“How much would this buyback cost? Do we even have the money given our huge debt? Are the current owners selling or will this be a forced sale? These are some of the questions that need answers,” he added in a statement on Tuesday.

The recent widespread power outages and the continued threats to national security have prompted calls for the government to reacquire its stake in the NGCP.

NGCP is 40 percent owned now by the  State Grid Corp. of China, while the controlling 60 percent share remains with Filipino investors.

Escudero, however, cautioned the government against  “renationalization” or reacquiring of properties it previously owned as this might discourage foreign investors from doing business in the country.  

“The renationalization of formerly-owned sold state assets is a policy that the national government should be very careful about or should be more circumspect about as it might send a wrong signal to existing ang potential investors,”   he pointed out.

Besides,  the senator also doubts the capability of the state to run the NGCP,  noting that the government’s failure in the past led to the privatization of the agency.

“Does anyone honestly think the government can run NGCP better than the private sector?”  Escudero asked.

Though NGCP is now being blamed for the recent power outages in parts of the country, the senator wondered if there is already a formal finding from regulators indicating that the firm is indeed at fault.

“There should be an “expert determination”  on the role of NGCP in  “power outages and shortages,” Escudero said.

“Kung power generation ang problema (If power generation is the problem), are we not applying the wrong solution? Baka naman instead of finding solutions, we’re looking for convenient scapegoats,” he said.

“‘Been there, done that’ na tayo diyan and the Napocor and the NGCP, at that time, racked up hundreds of billions of pesos of debts which we are paying up to now,” Escudero said.

gsg/abc