Absence of NGCP head suspends Senate panel hearing

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate panel hearing on the operations of the National Grid Corporation (NGCP) was suspended not even five minutes from its start after the firm’s president failed to show up citing health reasons.

At the beginning of the hearing, Committee chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian asked why NGCP president Anthony Almeda was not present.

“I was looking through the guest list and I was looking at the participant today and I noticed the lack of presence of the President of NGCP who is the main actor of this hearing,” he said.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza told the senator that Almeda was advised by his physician to visit the hospital as “he was not feeling well.”

“Yesterday afternoon he began feeling unwell and he was advised by our office physician to go home and rest,” she said.

“This morning, he informed us that he was advised to go to the hospital because he was not feeling well,” she added.

Gatchalian then asked that a medical certificate be submitted to the committee “to substantiate your statement.”

“The NGCP through its president is the main actor or the main focus of the hearing today and NGCP performs a very important duty of operating our transmission grid—which is the only one of its kind in the country—and we want to get direct answers no less than from the president himself,” he said.

The senator noted that the NGCP chief was able to provide “shed light on a lot of the issues surrounding the operations and the national security concerns of the grid” during the last hearing.

“However today’s hearing will not be complete and forthright without his presence. We strongly urge and demand the presence of the president of NGCP,” Gatchalian said.

“We want the answers straight no less than from the president, I don’t think we can continue,” he added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also expressed disappointment with the absence of some resource persons.

She said the committee wanted to push through with the hearing “because of the urgency of the issue.”

Alabanza then apologized for the absence of Almeda who she said “was ready and willing” to answer the panel’s questions.

“As much as we want to comply with the 24-hour rule, we were told about his final inability only this morning,” she said, referring to the 24 hours given to resource persons to confirm their attendance.

Alabanza added that Almeda sent a full team to answer questions.

“If you may want to continue addressing questions full complement of NGCP is here and we may be able to address any questions that you may have been wanting to pose to Mr. Almeda in his absence,” she said.

But Gatchalian maintained that the committee needs to get the answers straight from “the most important resource person.”

Abundance of caution amid COVID-19

In an interview with reporters, Alabanza said Almeda opted to stay home and seek medical attention “out of an abundance of caution considering the circumstance surrounding yesterday and today.”

The Department of Health (DOH) has so far recorded over 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.

“Mr. Almeda was more than willing and we are actually preparing for today but yesterday he began feeling unwell, actually pagpasok niya (when he came into the office), I noticed he looked a little bit tired and I noticed that medyo bloodshot yung eyes niya (his eyes were slightly bloodshot),” she said.

“He is now confined in a hospital and honestly it would be irresponsible for anyone under the current circumstances to expose other people to sickness whether it’s COVID related or not,” she added.

Edited by MUF