The fight between the head of the Government Service Insurance System and the Lopez-owned Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is over. This came about after the Court of Appeals (CA) decided in favor of the Lopez-owned Meralco a temporary restraining order (TRO) which barred the Securities and Exchange Commission from taking any action against Meralco.
It was reported that Meralco pushed through with its annual stockholders’ meeting and elected its board of directors which the SEC wanted declared null and void. SEC had issued a cease-and-desist order that would invalidate the results of the recently held stockholders’ meeting which resulted in the victory of at least five directors thus regaining control of the power distribution company.
Nobody knows what really happened as the CA deliberated the case. Earlier reports said that it’s not good for government to take over a public utility firm like Meralco because it’s not good for business. It may have been the basis of the appellate court for siding with Meralco. But GSISpresident Winston Garcia doesn’t want to rest his case and would even seek the court intervention that would break the Lopez family’s monopoly of power distribution and supply in Metro Manila.
Garcia, in fact, has vowed to ask the court to order Meralco to buy cheaper power supply from the government’s National Power Corporation and not from its subsidiary First Gas Power Company, which is the reason why the power rate becomes unaffordable to ordinary electric consumers.
But I have another suggestion should Meralco continues to rear its ugly heads on this sensitive issue at hand. And the way I see it nothing positive will happen considering that Meralco has the money to bribe anybody to gain favor on its side.
Why can’t the Filipino consumers think about alternative energy sources. The Philippines is a tropical country. Sunshine and wind are available almost all year round. With solar and wind power, I have no doubt that each home will be capable of running its own power requirements on a daily basis.
All they have to do is try forming an association or cooperative that will spearhead the formation of an alternative energy facility whose main intention is to help its members avail of subsidized electricity to power their homes.
With all these hassles, I have a strong doubt that Meralco will continue to impose what it feels will benefit its corporate interestes rather than for public good. I think this is the time to start this move. Once and for all, it will lessen the consumers’ heavy burden on their pockets. At the same time, it will minimize the national government’s heavy dependence on imported fuels, thus a big savings for the country’s foreign coffer.
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