Senate panel orders NGCP to submit records of all Chinese involved in firm

MANILA, Philippines — A Senate panel has directed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to submit records of all Chinese nationals working or have worked in the company during the last 10 years of its operations.

“I move that we subpoena all the records of the Chinese who are working in this company because this is a matter of constitutional importance to us,” Senator Richard Gordon said during Monday’s hearing on the operations of NGCP, a privately-owned corporation.

Gordon made the call amid concerns that China could remotely shut off the country’s power grid after senators learned that NGCP, which runs and maintains the country’s electricity grid, is 40 percent owned by the State Grid Corporation of China. Legislators also discovered during the hearing of the Senate committee on energy chaired by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian that a Chinese national has been designated as a chief technical officer, a post that is only “one position below chief executive officer” of the company.

Based on documents presented by Gordon during the hearing, a certain Wen Bo signed contracts as well as a manpower request as NGCP’s chief technical officer.

“We should get all the records of any Chinese that has been working in that company,” Gordon continued.

“The motion of Senator Gordon will be carried and please submit to us the documents that he requested,” Gatchalian subsequently said.

Before this, the senators scolded the NGCP as it tried to justify the designation of the Chinese national.

The senators also said that NGCP committed a “clear” violation of the 1987 Constitution.

Gatchalian specifically cited Section 11, Article 12 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that “all executive and managing officers of such corporation or association must be citizens of the Philippines.”

“Unang-una, napakahalaga niyang NGCP because it involves a franchise na kino-cover ang kuryente, transmission all over the country. Nakadikit lahat diyan ‘yung mga distributors; nagbabayad tayong lahat diyan,” Gordon told reporters on the sidelines of the hearing.

(First, NGCP is so important because it involves a franchise covering electricity, transmission all over the country. All distributors are attached to it; we all pay to them.)

“The Constitution is very clear, dapat the operation of public utility, all the people there must be Filipino citizens. MUST BE. Requirement. Ngayon, kung nag-fastbreak sila, violation of the constitution iyon. That could be a ground for cancellation [of the franchise],” he added.

(The Constitution is very clear, the operation of public utility should be, all the people there must be Filipino citizens. MUST BE. Requirement. Now, if they did a fastbreak, that’s a violation of the constitution. That could be a ground for cancellation [of the franchise].)

Gordon said it would now be up to Gatchalian to look into the possible revocation of NGCP’s franchise.

“It’s already under question now,” the senator said referring to the franchise of NGCP.

“It’s up to the chairman of the committee to see to it, and I think he agrees to it because he is the one who raised the Constitutional provision,” Gordon added.

Edited by KGA