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By Katrina Mennen A. Valdez and
Euan Paulo C. Anonuevo, Reporters
The president of the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS), Winston Garcia, on Thursday said
they considered taking over the Lopez-controlled Manila Electric Co.
(Meralco) after the power distribution company’s chairman, Oscar
Lopez, expressed his intention to give back the company to the
government.
Garcia added in a text message
that his office immediately sent an invitation to discuss the terms
for buyout after learning of the decision of Lopez, also chairman of
First Philippine Holdings Corp., parent company of Meralco.
“Right after learning of the
announcement of Oscar Lopez, [we] sent them an invite on when [we]
could discuss the terms of the takeover,” he said.
Garcia added that GSIS is willing
to sit down to talk about the terms of the buy out.
When asked whether the pension
fund has enough funds to grab the offer of Lopez, the GSIS president
said, “[They] should let [us] know how much are [they] willing to
sell [their] stake.“
As of June last year, the asset
base of GSIS stood at $13 billion.
On the sidelines of the
Philippine-Europe Business Conference sponsored by the European
Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines held at the New World
Rennaisance Hotel in Makati, Lopez, said he is willing to sell the
Lopez holding company’s stake in Meralco to GSIS or to foreign
investors.
“If he wants, (GSIS) can buy us
out . . . or foreign investors. I’m sick and tired of this
business, [we] can’t even get a rate increase because the
government keeps saying [our] rates are too high, “ Lopez said.
According to him, Meralco should
not be blamed on the high power rates since they are sourcing their
supply from the National Power Corp. (Napocor), the Wholesale
Electricity Spot Market (WESM), and the independent power producers
(IPPs).
“It’s not Meralco’s
responsibility to lower the rates, our rates are lower,” Lopez
said.
“This is reverse privatization,
the government wants to take over, whereas with the National Power
Corp., it is trying to privatize it, but [us] in Meralco want to
give it back to the government,” he added.
At present, the Lopez group,
through First Philippine Holdings Corp., holds a 33.4-percent stake
in Meralco, while the GSIS stake in Meralco has increased to about
23 percent after buying the stake of the government.
Other government entities such as
PhilHealth, Land Bank of the Philippines, Social Security System,
and Pag-Ibig Fund hold a combined 10 percent stake, bringing the
government’s stake in Meralco to a total of 33 percent.
Moreover, Lopez said “it’s
government’s responsibility to bring rates down not Meralco’s.”
He added that one way is to first take away the royalties on natural
gas. On the reported plans of Congress to investigate Meralco’s
rates, Lopez said, “They can do anything they want.”
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