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Winston
Garcia, the well-loved president-general manager of the
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), is bluntly
saying it is time for a change in the control and
management of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
By Jove,
he’s got it!
This is
not the kind of public statement you would ordinarily
expect from a government official. Over the past 50
years, nobody but nobody from the government occupying a
position lower than president of the republic had ever
badmouthed the formidable Lopez clan. Among the elite
and the government’s highest officials—except, of
course, during the martial-law years under Marcos—the
Lopezes were the Meralco, and vice versa. It was as if
the power-utility firm was theirs by some dynastic
right.
But
suddenly, out of the blue, here’s a feisty Cebuano
daring to say that the formidable Lopez oligarchy has to
be “kicked out” from the management of the Meralco!
But you
better believe it. Winston—I’ve known him long
enough—does what he says he will do. He is one ornery
hombre when pissed off, as they would say in the Wild
West.
Without
mincing words, he told both the BusinessMirror (over the
weekend) and the dwIZ (yesterday) in separate exclusive
interviews that, “a change is imperative in the Meralco
management, which, for the longest time, has been
chaired by Manuel Lopez.”
I would
like to think that, coming from a stalwart of the Arroyo
administration, Winston’s statement was nothing short of
a fully sanctioned declaration of war. The objective of
the Arroyo administration, from the looks of it, is to
ensure a lasting legacy of reasonable power rates to the
people before she steps down in 2010. Winston will lead
the “marines” in this war, to establish a beachhead
right where it will hurt—the Meralco boardroom and the
stockholders’ meeting this month.
What
we’re looking at here is a “bloody” conflict that will
be fought on all possible fronts in the bureaucracy,
Congress, the courts, the stock market, boardroom,
everywhere.
Given
the formidable political influence and media clout of
the Lopez family, this battle would not be easy to win.
But still, all the administration needs is the political
will to do what it must, and a grateful public will
serve as its impenetrable armor.
In
Congress, it will be a battle to rewrite the Electric
Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), which is so full of
defects, the public has been led to conclude that it was
drafted in one of the Meralco boardrooms. One of the key
changes being eyed by administration stalwarts is an
outright ban on cross-ownership in the industry.
Example:
The Lopezes control the Meralco, yet there is nothing in
the present law that stops them from owning as many
power plants as they can. Result: Self-dealing and
sweetheart deals between the Meralco and its own
independent power producers such as Quezon Power and the
two gas-fired power plants of First Gas, namely, the
Santa Rita and
San Lorenzo plants.
Incidentally, more than 50 percent of the power being
fed to the Meralco distribution system is the highly
expensive power sourced from the Lopez-owned generation
plants.
Reps.
Luis Villafuerte and Mikey Arroyo are the field generals
for the administration in the House. In the Senate, the
push for Epira amendments is being led by Sen. Juan
Ponce Enrile. Lately, even Sen. Loren Legarda, former
protégé of the ABS-CBN network, is said to be siding
with the administration on this crucial issue.
Amid the
rising costs of food and oil, never has the issue of
prohibitive power rates assumed such importance. The
government, like the people, has realized that if power
rates are cut down to reasonable levels, the difference
would be enough to buy as much as four to 15 kilos of
rice for every family, depending on their power-
consumption rate.
In the
Meralco’s megafranchise area, there are 4.2 million
power connections to households and business
establishments. These are what make up its captive
market, representing some 20 million to 25 million
people living in Quezon, Batangas, Laguna,
Cavite,
Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan and Pampanga.
Winston
realized that something was terribly wrong with the way
the Lopezes were running Meralco when he casually asked
for a copy of the company’s audited financial statement.
They told him that was not possible, and it was then
that he really got riled. It is standard practice in all
publicly held corporations to provide stockholders with
copies of the company’s financial records. Yet, there he
was, representing the 25-percent stake of the GSIS in
the Meralco, being told that they couldn’t provide him
with a copy. In a recent meeting, he also asked for
copies of the Meralco’s supply contracts with Quezon
Power and First Gas Power, but he was told the same
thing—no way, these documents are all confidential.
Indeed,
what are you guys hiding, Winston asked. Now with war
paint all over his face, a grim Winston Garcia believes
the Lopezes have lost the moral authority to continue
running the giant public utility ever since the Supreme
Court found, three years ago, that it had overcharged
its customers by P30 billion. “The P30-billion refund
order is no joke. It is not something we can forgive and
forget.”
He says
besides refunding the amount in full, the Meralco
management should also be held criminally liable for
defrauding its customers. Winston is a lawyer. He says
he will pursue the criminal case against the Lopezes.
In my
estimation, Winston “take-no-crap” Garcia is the
administration’s and the public’s best bet to give the
Lopezes a run for their money. He will be a worthy
champion of the people on this particular issue, and he
deserves all the support we can give.
Omerta_bdc@yahoo.com |
