Tuesday, August 10, 2004 Espinoza: Flip-flopping on power problem hit By Fred C. Espinoza
CABINET NAMED. The President will name a new Cabinet on Aug. 18, according to the Manila Standard. It will be interesting to see whether the event will live up to the expectations of the people as truly a judgment day at Malacañang, as an administration source wanted to make it appear.
Meanwhile, some sectors are looking for signs that President Macapagal-Arroyo has realized her countrymen’s concern about the looming power crisis, and the seeming helplessness of the government to resolve the issue.
So far, the President has shown signs that she herself is not quite sure that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) could really oversee the power sector privatization program, a pet project of the government.
After stirring up a hornet’s nest, Malacañang now appears to be backtracking on the idea of converting the mothballed and hugely controversial Bataan nuclear power plant into a gas-fired facility, the report said. More than that, it now admits that the idea “is a rehash of an old proposal which past administrations always revive whenever confronted with power crises.”
Ricardo Saludo, the President’s deputy spokesperson, even went as far as saying that the Department of Energy should “weigh the pros and cons of such proposed conversion, including budgetary and safety concerns.”
This could be an indication that Energy Secretary Vincent Perez is not performing well in his post. Some observers here feel that the secretary has failed to enhance competitive activity among the power providers to break up the so-called mega-franchises of big power firms in the country.
No wonder the Makati Business Club, in its latest assessment on the performance of government agencies, has not mentioned the Department of Energy (DOE). Instead, it cited the Department of Agriculture “as the third best performing agency of the government.” Business also joined the farm sector in praising the performance of the agency under Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. These sectors cited the “impressive growth of farm productivity and the major steps taken by the Arroyo administration in ensuring the country’s food sufficiency and security.”
In MBC’s survey in July, business executives gave the department a 64.4 percent satisfaction rating, which raised its ranking to number 3 from number 8 in January.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Department of Trade and Industry were named the top two best performing agencies.
The survey also showed that Lorenzo was among the top performers in President Macapagal-Arroyo’s official family, with close to 70 percent of the respondents strongly favoring his retention in the Cabinet post. The business community said Lorenzo was a key player in the President’s policy agenda that includes jobs, food security and anti-poverty programs.
CANCELLED REGISTRATION. On the other hand, we would like to commend the Federation of Philippine Industries for supporting the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s canceling of the registration of the Cebu-based garment firm, which it said was possibly one of the sources of used clothing sold in ukay-ukay outlets nationwide.
FPI said that under the law, used clothes and rags may enter the country only if these are used solely for public entertainment or exhibits, these were brought in to be used in making movies, or donated as relief goods but cleared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
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