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By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
An irate Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday
called on the Energy Regulatory Commission to order the Manila
Electric Co. (Meralco) to show cause why it should not immediately
give the refunds to consumers as ordered by the Supreme Court.
She also wants Meralco to announce immediately a
cap on system losses lower than the existing 9.5 percent.
Santiago, chairman of the Joint Congressional
Power Commission (PowerCom), asked the regulatory commission to
resolve within three months all pending petitions to lower Meralco
power rates and to order the Lopez-owned utility to list all
inclusions in their generation cost. The PowerCom was created by law
with oversight functions on the implementation of the Electric Power
Industry Reform Act.
She issued the “guidelines” to the
commission in reaction to what she called a “blackmail attempt”
on her by television giant ABS-CBN, which she described as “part
of the giant Lopez empire” for her advocacy of Meralco reducing
its power rates.
In a privileged speech, Santiago said the
website team of ABS-CBN was trying “to shut up on the scandalous
Meralco issue and to ignore my duties as PowerCom chairman to work
for the reduction of power rates.”
“My enemies are trying to blackmail me into
playing the monkey to their organ grinder by not seeing, not hearing
and not talking,” she added.
Santiago said the ABS-CBN website had come up
with a series of articles derogatory to her and to the PowerCom,
which she heads with Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo,
after the May 12 hearing of the joint congressional panel. She
mentioned the articles: “PowerCom hearing,” “Epira author says
power commission may be unlawful,” “Power commission—big
budget, excess authority,” “RP faces tough challenge in ICJ
campaign for Santiago,” and “Santiago says ABS-CBN website piece
on her ICJ bid a ‘dirty trick.’”
The website editor has denied her allegation.
Of the articles, Santiago said, those on her bid
for a seat on the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, riled her
most.
“It is nothing less than a diabolic attempt to
ensure that foreign countries will be influenced to vote against me,
as the Philippine national candidate to the ICJ,” she said.
Santiago also described the articles on her
International Court of Justice bid as “consisting of outright
falsities, distortions of truth and gratuitous innuendo.”
“If I win as World Court judge, you would be
rid of me for at least nine years. But if I lose, I might just
decide to remain in government, and I may just continue to torment
the crooks, their sycophants and the hypocrites,” she said.
Santiago, the first female editor-in-chief of
the Philippine Collegian, the official newspaper of the University
of the Philippines, and was a columnist of a national daily, added
that she could recognize a negative spin when she sees it.
“I can spot mental dishonesty when it is
foisted on the reader,” the senator said.
She further described herself as “a living
dead” after the death of her 22-year-old son, and that she is
already beyond fear.
“Shoot me down, but I will be the last person
standing, because you are shooting at the living dead. If I go down,
we will all go down in flames together,” Santiago said, her voice
booming.
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