MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/12 Jan) – The Social Action Center of the Diocese of Malaybalay has joined the opposition to the privatization of the hydroelectric power plants in the Agus and Pulangui Rivers.

Fr. Danilo Paciente, director of the SAC, in his letter to the Bukidnon Sangguniang Panlalawigan last week, asked board members to pass a resolution exempting from privatization the National Power Corporation’s generation assets in Mindanao.

He said the sale will be to the disadvantage of the people of Mindanao, citing that Mindanaoans enjoy the lowest electricity rates in the country.

There are six hydro plants along the Agus River, which gets its water from Lake Lanao in Marawi City, emptying it to Iligan Bay, some 36 kilometers away, generating a total of 727 megawatts. Pulangui’s lone plant generates 255mw. Combined, the hydro plants in the two river systems reportedly supply 70 percent of Mindanao’s electricity needs.

“Our group is very much concerned of the Philippine experience, eight years after the implementation of the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) or the restructuring of the power industry in the Philippines, the result is very much alarming,” he said. 

Paciente is the parish priest of the Christ the King Parish in Sumilao, Bukidnon and sits as member of the board of Bukidnon II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BUSECO), one of Bukidnon’s two electric power distributors. 

He cited that after Napocor was privatized, the Philippines has become next only to Japan with the highest power rates in Asia.

Republic Act 9136 of 2001 (the EPIRA) has provided for the sale of the Agus/Pulangui hydro complexes by next year. 

According to Chapter V of the EPIRA, Sec 47 (f) “The Agus and the Pulangui complexes in Mindanao shall be excluded from among the generation companies that will be initially privatized. But EPIRA provided that the two may be privatized not earlier than 10 years from the effectivity of the law.

The law says the privatization of the two power plants will be left to the discretion of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp., in consultation with Congress.

Paciente has sought audience with the board members this week for the proposed resolution. 

He cited that in 2001, the board passed a resolution for the exemptions resulting in the 10-year moratorium for the privatization of Agus and Pulangui dams, which will expire in 2011. 

Power consumers in neighboring Lanao del Norte has expressed vehement opposition to the privatization last year when the Lanao Power Consumers Federation (LAPOCOF) appeared at the City Council of Iligan to register their stand. The group was composed of several sectoral, religious, concerned individuals of Iligan City and the two Lanao provinces who are opposed to the privatization of the hydro power complexes.

Among the arguments raised by LAPOCOF is that in privatization, the assets have to become attractive with high electricity rates. 

“The higher the winning bidder bids, the higher the electricity price we have to pay in the future so the winning bidder can recover its investment,” says a position of the group as posted in reporter Violeta Gloria’s blog site. (Walter I. Balane / MindaNews)

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