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By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
Senators led by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile berated
foreign businessmen under the umbrella of the Joint Foreign Chambers
for writing a letter to President Gloria Arroyo opposing any
amendment to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, or Epira, and
charging that some legislators made “unwarranted” accusations
against ”bedrock principles” observed by progressive countries.
Enrile, who bristled at the foreign chambers in
a privileged speech on Monday, stepped up the rebuke on Friday.
“You are intruding into the domain of policy.
You, sirs, are our guests. Please behave as such,” he said of the
chambers’ position that the Epira should not be touched.
Enrile, author of the bill amending the industry
reform act, was also incensed at the opening sentence of the foreign
businessmen’s letter to President Arroyo which read: “Many of
the unwarranted accusations being raised by legislators appear to be
questioning bedrock principles that are sound and, in fact,
practiced by many progressive power industries around the world.”
He insisted that Hubert D’Aboville, the
chambers’ spokesman and president of the European Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, identify the lawmakers who were making the
“unwarranted accusations” that appear to be questioning
“bedrock principles.”
When D’Aboville tried to evade the question,
Enrile flared up even more and barked: “Don’t ever think that
the Senate is something you can push [around].”
D’Aboville and Henry Schumacher, executive
vice president of the European chamber, said system loss and
take-or-pay provision are among the regular features in any contract
all over the world. Enrile showed even more irritation at this
answer, saying there was nothing in his bill that mentions system
loss or take-or-pay provision. He said the chamber should study the
bill first before criticizing it.
System loss, in the jargon of power distributors
such as the Manila Electric Co., refers to pilfered electricity. The
tax-or-pay provision, also in the book of these distributors, refers
to full payment of electricity delivered short of the contracted
purchase.
Sen. Joker Arroyo asked members of the foreign
chambers if they could write the legislatures of their countries not
to touch a law that is already enforced.
“The twin objectives of Epira were to reduce
the indebtedness of the National Power Corp. [Napocor] and reduce
power rates. After seven years, Napocor obligations had even
increased, while power rates had not been reduced, so Epira is not
working. Could you have written this kind of letter to your own
parliaments when a law is no longer working?” Senator Arroyo
asked.
He said the foreign investors appear to be
merely out to protect their profits, while the senators are out to
protect the Filipino consumers who are suffering from high power
rates.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the
Senate Committee on Energy, said the foreign chambers broke protocol
by writing the letter when the Senate was almost at the tailend of
legislative work in amending the Epira.
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