Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Ong: Napocor dividends as election funds?
By Ted Aldwin Ong
Misreadings
FUNDS have started to trickle down in the election basket of the Arroyo regime. First stop, the National Power Corporation, which faces orders to remit P2.6 billion in dividends. I suspect that other Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations will soon follow suit as the basket continues to move around.
Arroyo issued Executive Order 599 ordering Napocor to remit dividends as part of its net earnings for 2005. In this country, elections could really make wonders.
Who would imagine that billions of pesos in dividends are hiding just around the corner when since 2005 the national government has been operating on a scarce budget?
Moreover, who would believe that it will be squeezed from the cash-strapped Napocor who have been crippled by debt many times over? It has incurred debts last year in order to survive and is scheduled to incur debt for 2007. This is the reason why the national government went into the short process of privatizing the entire power industry.
Who would stop the government from collecting taxes or dividends when it is through this that it sustains its operations of nation building? But why only now when the Arroyo regime has successively claimed it has achieved strong economy and not on the previous years when the national government has been operating on a scarce budget?
As the election period is closing in, I cannot help but speculate that this will be utilized to fortify the financial position of the administration against its opponents. These billions will be translated into favorable votes to the Arroyo candidates by whichever way -- buying votes, goons and guns, or by rigging election results.
It's good if the P2.6-billion when collected will be spent for the "interest of national economy and general welfare" as stated in E.O No. 599, which in turn will be spent for social services and other initiatives that will uplift the lives of the Filipino people from its state of poverty, but this is far from reality under the current regime.
The financial figures of Napocor reveal that it is not well performing. Though it posted P86 billion net earnings in 2005, it again incurred losses in 2006 with a net loss of P8.32 billion in the first six months alone. If peso continued to depreciate by the end of last year, Napocor would have an estimated net loss of P50-billion due to price manipulation at the wholesale electricity spot market.
The $500 million bonds it floated last year and the $450 million fresh loan from the Asian Development Bank further illustrated Napocor's dire financial position as it needed additional funds to pay off its long-term debts amounting to almost P400 billion as of end-2005. Its total debts and liabilities already stood at about P1.3 trillion that year -- equivalent to about 25 percent of the total National Government debt as of June 2006 amounting to P4 trillion.
Napocor has been the single highest contributor to the National Government debt because of its huge long-term debts and liabilities. These debts are guaranteed by the National Government and in the event it fails to meet its obligations, the government assumes the responsibility of paying these off. Meaning it's, us, the Filipino people that eventually shoulder the debt burden.
Now that Napocor has temporarily "recovered" Finance Secretary Margarico Teves was fast to recommend the collection of dividends without specifying where these funds will be allocated. Who will not speculate that this will not be used for election purposes when the dividend rate alone was adjusted to 3 percent?
On top of the scandals and misuse of public funds, manipulation has characterized the track record of the Arroyo regime. Now who will not suspect that it is not making rounds to collect "dividends" for the upcoming elections?
Comments to tao.ssi@gmail.com.
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