Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi on Thursday urged Senator Manny Pacquiao to bring his allegations on the alleged irregularities in Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) to the proper courts.
This came after Pacquiao showed a video clip supporting his previous allegations against DOE on the creation of EIMOP at a Senate budget hearing.
Pacquiao, a presidential aspirant in 2022, had previously claimed that the DOE gave EIMOP the power to become an independent electricity stock market operator.
He said EIMOP did not meet the two-year experience in market operations requirement of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, and only had P7,000 in paid-up capital.
“Itong sinsasabing accusation na ganyan that is siguro po masakit din po and I hope it can be done outside the walls of the Senate at kung kailangan ikaso, ikaso po,” Cusi said.
(These allegations are hard to accept and I hope it can be done outside the walls of the Senate. If you need to file charges, then file it.)
In his opening statement, Pacquiao claimed that there are Market Transaction Fees charged in the consumers’ electricity bill due to the operations of IEMOP and Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC), which he said are involved in the operation and management of Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
“Iisa po ang modus ngayon. Magtatayo ng bagong kumpanya na katiting ang capital, walang experience or kakayahan, at kukuha ng kontrata sa gobyerno na bilyon-bilyon ang kita. Hindi nagpatalo ang DOE,” Pacquiao said, comparing EIMOP to Pharmally and Starpay, which are both linked allegedly anomalous deals with the government.
(They have another scheme which is to create a new company which has small capital but has no experience or competence. They will get contracts to gain profits. DOE is no different from other departments.)
In the video presented, Pacquiao cited the EPIRA provision that states that only one market operator is authorized to manage the WESM. This, he said, means PEMC should cease its operations after the creation of the EIMOP.
Due to the regulations allegedly released by the DOE, Pacquiao said Cusi allowed PEMC and EIMOP to operate simultaneously despite the provision of the EPIRA.
The lawmaker said PEMC is still the “governing arm of WESM” and it could still control EIMOP. He added that budget of EIMOP is handled by PEMC.
Furthermore, Pacquiao claimed that PEMC and EIMOP were asking the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to increase the Market Transaction Fee being charged against the consumers.
In 2019, the firms allegedly asked ERC P835 million budget while in 2020, they asked for P1.033 billion for its operations.
Apart from these, Pacquiao cited an August 2019 ERC order which was released due to EIMOP and PEMC’s wrong formula applied on the line lost congestion charge, resulting in P1.7 billion payments charged against the consumers.
He then linked other power players to his allegations, particularly Transco President Melvin Matibag, his wife, Rene Ann Lourdes Matibag who is an incorporator of EIMOP; Matibag’s fraternity brother Richard Nethercott who allegedly sits as PEMC director and also the EIMOP president and CEO.
“Nakita natin kung paano sinindikato ng mga nasa kapangyarihan ang EPIRA law,” Pacquiao said.
(We saw how this group operated using the EPIRA Law.)
Responding to the allegations, Cusi explained that the EIMOP was created as the previous administrations failed to establish the body in accordance to EPIRA.
Due to the absence of the independent body, PEMC was created to manage the WESM, he said.
Cusi also justified the simultaneous operations of PEMC and IEMOP, saying these firms are still in “transition” phase.
“Bakit ang capitalization ng IEMOP is P7,000? Kasi nonprofit, nonstock. Bakit hindi pinag-bibidan, sino mag-bibid sa nonprofit [at] nonstock?” Cusi said.
(Why does IEMOP has P7,000 capitalization? It is because they are a nonprofit, nonstock company and they cannot join bids.)
“Itong pagtatayo natin ng IEMOP at PEMC is in accordance to the EPIRA law and this is the only administration that made it happen,” he added.
(The creation of EIMOP and PEMC is in accordance to the EPIRA Law and this is the only administration that made it happen.)
Cusi also maintained that the EIMOP is not gaining profit and there is no corruption in the body, emphasizing that its directors are led by people who are not related to him “by any blood.”
He also explained that Nethercott’s membership in PEMC and IEMOP’s leadership is for “coordination” for the transition phase.
Apart from the power issue, Pacquiao and Cusi are involved in the infighting within PDP-Laban. Both are leading factions that support different presidential candidates for the 2022 national and local elections. —KBK, GMA News
Cusi to Pacquiao: File charges over ‘tongpats’ allegations on electricity bills
Source: Pinoy Hub News
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