GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The mafia at the state-owned Napocor has done it again. It succeeded diverting attention from its billion-peso thievery as the real cause of soaring electricity rates. Congress was made busy reviewing the power sector law. Malacañang was sicced on private retailer Meralco. Meanwhile the Mafiosi are laughing their way to the bank.
They had pulled a fast one in April 2007. Claiming acute shortage of coal in four Napocor plants across
Irate consumerists sued Napocor president Cyril del Callar before the Ombudsman for graft. Not only was machination obvious, the state firm’s managers also disobeyed the energy department’s long-standing order to stockpile on cheap coal. Also charged were Napocor VP-Logistics Eduardo Eroy, VP-Bidding Juan Carlos Guadarrama, and Mancom secretariat head Urbano Mendiola Jr.
The Joint Congressional Power Commission promised to investigate. Somewhere along the way it got distracted, though. Napocor management talked legislators into scrutinizing instead the rising cost of electricity for burdened homes and industries. Blame was put on lack of “open access” for factories and subdivisions to buy electricity from retailers of their choice. To date Napocor has privatized only a third of its plants, instead of all as obliged by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. The act programs open access to commence when Napocor sells off 70 percent. But Napocor now wants Congress to amend it to begin open access even at only 50 percent. Napocor Mafiosi scored double. Forestalled was the probe that could have exposed how much they’ve filched so far and who the patron is. Impending approval of a 50-percent threshold for open access also means they won’t have to speed up the sale of coal plants from which they make a killing.
Malacañang too was fooled to ignore the coal kickbacks. No less than Gloria Arroyo led the deceived. Pointing to Meralco as culprit, she asked businessmen to help her force
While nobody was looking, the Napocor mafia struck again early this year. Under the old modus operandi, it declared need for rush purchase of coal — a shipload of 65,000 metric tons for Pagbilao plant. One of the firms Guadarrama invited on February 12 to bid was PT Marsitero Marloan of Indonesia, represented in Manila by TransPacific Consolidated Resources Inc. Notably, TCRI was incorporated only in October 2007 with paltry P1-million authorized capital — P250,000 subscribed, P62,500 paid up. Listed address was Danarra Business Center, which the Quezon City hotel staff says has been closed since December.
Three days later PT Marsitero Marloan-TCRI won the “bidding” and was awarded the contract on February 19. Price: $109.50 per ton. Though bogus, TCRI was in for more good luck. On March 5 del Callar awarded it triple the original volume. The contract rose to $23,487,750 (P956,374,204.50) for three shiploads in March, April and June. Indonesian coal was selling then at $77 per ton. There was clear overpricing of $32.50 per ton, or a total of $6,337,500 (P258,050,325). Consumers are now paying for that sleaze, among many others.
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As co-chair of congressional oversight, Rep. Mikey Arroyo should lead in investigating Napocor. But he’s been in
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