Congressional inquiry

A Congressional inquiry will be held this afternoon at the Capitol on the questionable contract entered into between Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) and the Korean Electric Power Company (Kepco).

I will be attending it with the letter invitation from Rep. Mikey Arroyo, chairman of the committee on energy. The invitation was on my having been a president of Ceneco. I would like to believe other former Ceneco presidents were invited too.

Former Ceneco President Ed Guillem called me up from Manila. He too received an invitation.

I urge others, Ceneco consumers particularly to be there.

* * *

We have been in the forefront of this fight against the use of coal to generate power because of the many disadvantages which we have so fully discussed here.

I know Dr. Romana de los Reyes who has carried the ball for the oppositors can very well handle the arguments for the opposition.

And, of course, our opposition was anchored on why did Ceneco keep and refuse to reveal the contents of the contract it signed with the Korean company.

We commend our friend, Congressman Jose Carlos “Kako” Lacson, for filing a resolution in Congress to have this inquiry. I hope our other government officials must also have the thinking of Congressman Lacson to stand against what is perceived to be irregularities that victimize the public.

* * *

 The Congressional inquiry will also find out what are the provisions of the contract? We have said, it is one-sided and the inquiry must find out, is it really one-sided?

The inquiry is to find out irregularities. This means, it must find out, why, despite of its being one-sided, Ceneco signed the contract? And why did Ceneco refuse to reveal the contents of the contract?

Ceneco is a cooperative. It is owned by its members. Why keep the contents of the contract from its members?

What is the extent of the losses members will suffer if the contract is pushed through?

* * *

The contract was made with our buying power from Kepco whose plant will be at Naga, Cebu at a cost of something like a little more than P5 a kilowatt hour.

And this is on the basis of the price of coal in the world market at $30 a ton. Late last week, a news item said, coal prices now range from P140 to P160 a ton. And it is still going up.

And that is the price as of the first week of March 2008. Kepco has not yet put up the plant and the contract is supposed to be in operation by 2011. At the rate the price of coal is going up, by 2011, coal might cost P500 to a ton.

The contract provides the cost of electricity to consumers will be adjustable to the price of coal in the world market.

By using ratio and proportion, if the price of electricity is P5 for a KWH plus 12 percent VAT or something like P5.60, figure out at the price of only P300 a ton how much shall we pay for electricity.

It will be P56 per kilowatt hour.Mine is just a very simplistic computation. That’s why businessmen and civic leaders must be there at the hearing to lend support to the opposition.

* * *

I go back to my discussion the other day on the rampant swindling here in Bacolod with the latest news that one was swindled with some half a million pesos by those who posed to be foreigners.

I then said, what makes one vulnerable to swindling like this is greed. And greed blinds one to reality. A swindler throughmanipulation shows how he can duplicate your paper money.

And P500,000 duplicated to become a million. Then the money is lost. To show the naivete of the victims, they are not ashamed to tell the public they were swindled.

* * *

I had a lawyer friend whose family owned a big subdivision here. When he needed money he would borrow using titles as collateral. And even at 10 percent a month interest and even surrendering the title and having the loan annotated in the title.

And he would not pay. Then when a case was brought up against him he would charge the lender with usury and have a “lis pendens” annotated on the title. Meaning, there is a pending case and the lots could not be sold.

I asked my lawyer friend, why did you do that? He told me, “I wanted to make them realize that they have to pay for their greed.” The fellow, he said, wanted to take advantage of his predicament.

You get swindled? There are only two reasons, you are naïve and greedy. When someone you don’t know gives you a juicy position, be careful.

He sees you a greedy fellow.*

back to top