SC asked to reverse ruling on Angat power plant sale

Angat Dam. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A petition has been filed asking the Supreme Court to reverse its decision declaring as valid the government sale of the 246 megawatt Angat Hydro-Electric Power Plant (AHEPP) in Bulacan to Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water).

In a 10-page motion for partial reconsideration, the Initiatives for Development and Empowerment Through Alternative Legal Services Inc. (Ideals Inc) and the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said the high court’s decision is flawed.

Petitioners said the high court ruling violates the nationality provisions of the Constitution which prohibits foreigners and foreign-owned companies from exploring, developing, utilizing end exploiting the State’s natural resources, including water.

“To the mind of the Court, the power generation process does not amount to utilization of natural resources…With all due respect, the distinction made by this Honorable Court is flawed. It flies in the face of reality that power generation cannot operate without water, a natural resource specifically mentioned [in the 1987 Constitution]-is indispensable,” petitioners said.

Angat Dam provides 97 percent of the water needs of at least 12 million residents of the country’s capital and irrigates some 31,000 hectares of farms across 20 towns and municipalities in Bulacan and Pampanga.

The high court, in its ruling said the openness to foreign investments has been a policy since 1987 as evident in the fiscal incentives provided for the restructuring and privatization of the power industry in the Philippines, under the Power Sector Restructuring Program (PSRP) of the Asian Development Bank.

K-Water is a water firm wholly-owned and controlled by the South Korean government.

Under Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm) is mandated to privatize all the assets of the National Power Corporation, including the AHEPP.

Having been declared by Psalm as pre-qualified to proceed further in the bidding process, K-Water went on to submit the highest bid for the project in the amount of US$440.8 million, thus, Psalm declared it as the winning bidder.