|
NOW that
the issue involving Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has
become the talk of the town, there is one aspect that I
think should be brought out in the open so we can have a
clear and total picture of Meralco’s operations. I refer
to the collection of water-meter deposits which I
understand is around P3,000 per meter, subject to refund
once the user gives up the contract.
Millions
of households within the Meralco franchise are subject
to this scheme, excluding business establishments,
factories and government entities that represent a
substantial portion of the customer base. If we multiply
the number of customers by P3,000, we can imagine the
magnitude of Meralco’s collections on meters alone, but
we must also remember that these funds are actually
owned by the consumers, not Meralco, which only
safekeeps the monies as trust funds.
This
issue raises a lot of questions. For instance, are these
funds held in trust by Meralco readily accountable? Are
we right in assuming that these funds are deposited in
banks under the account of Meralco, not the customers?
Do these funds deposited in banks earn interest? In what
banks are they deposited?
Did
Meralco invest these funds in other companies and/or in
its conglomerate? If Meralco did invest these funds, did
Meralco seek the permission of the fund owners before
investing the funds? Because if they did not seek prior
approval from the fund owners, are they not liable for
estafa? It follows that if these funds were invested in
other companies, the individual owners of these funds
shall have equity in all the companies to which the
funds were invested, and does it not follow that the
invested funds have accrued increments to its owners,
increasing the value of the trust fund?
In the
interest of transparency, these questions must be
answered.
****
In a
compassionate move, the government is sending a team of
medical professionals to attend to the victims of
cyclone-hit Myanmar that killed over 22,000 people and
displaced thousands more. A 15-man team will leave for
Myanmar after defining the types of medicines needed. I
fully support these efforts and I hope that other
governments, too, who may not agree with Myanmar
politics, will put aside ideological differences and
come to the help of the Burmese people in their greatest
time of need. The
United States,
too, through the efforts of First Lady Laura Bush, wants
to bring in relief supplies and other valuable aid, but
politics is getting in the way.
****
The
President has repeatedly visited the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to ensure that the prosecutors are on the
job in nailing rice hoarders who are responsible for the
soaring rice and other food prices. She first visited
Thursday last week, and again in the afternoon of May 7
after an inspection trip to Bulacan and consultations
with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). On the
morning of May 8, GMA was again at the DOJ at precisely
10 a.m., observing the ongoing investigation of 13
persons accused of hoarding hundreds of cavans of rice,
and expressed her satisfaction at the way her people
were doing their jobs.
What we
see is a hands-on president who is ready to brave sun
and rain in order to set things right. She has been on
the road every day and is rallying concerned government
agencies to be just as driven as the presidency in
ensuring that the precious staple will always be readily
available and within the reach of everyone.
Somehow,
the urgency and determination of the President is
rubbing off on our prosecutors handling hoarding cases;
the NBI agents tasked with the detection, apprehension
and arrest of hoarders; and the high-end government
managers who are riding shotgun on these efforts. The
President’s sense of urgency has paid off and several
suspected hoarders have gone underground or veered away
from their usual modus operandi of cornering rice stocks
for future price fixing at enormous profits. The message
the President is sending cannot escape the eyes of
profiteers, and because they, too, are businessman, this
time they should play their cards right by keeping on
the right side of the law. |
