Editorial
Bombing Meralco
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:01:00 05/10/2008
On Thursday the inimitable Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago was at it again. In making the case for a legislative investigation of Manila Electric Co., (Meralco) the country’s largest power distributor, Santiago blamed it for the failure of the Energy and Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and called for, well, fireworks.
A video on Inquirer.net shows Santiago indulging a violent fantasy. She tells reporters: The “EPIRA law is a failure. The Senate is a failure. The Executive branch is a failure. ‘Bakit? Dahil ’yang Meralco na ’yan, dapat pasabugin ’yan. Pugad ’yan ng mga sindikato. Mas grabe pa ’yan sa Bureau of Customs.’ [Why? Because of that Meralco, it should be bombed. It’s a haven for syndicates. It’s worse than the Bureau of Customs.]”
How should we translate Santiago’s rhetorical hyperbole? She is obviously calling, not for a mere shakeup of the company controlled and managed by the Lopez family, but a breaking up, a ripping apart, a bombing. “Dapat pasabugin ’yan.”
We note this characteristic use of language by the former presidential candidate because we believe it forms part, and itself is proof, of a pattern. The renewed battle for Meralco is thoroughly politicized. For good reason, too. The Arroyo administration’s new and transparent attempt to remove Meralco from out of the sphere of influence of the powerful Lopez family, which owns the ABS-CBN Broadcasting network, is all about politics.
This is not to say that the Lopez family’s management of Meralco is entirely defensible. The power firm’s predilection for passing on all its costs to its captive consumers endears it to no one. But the reality is that consumer interests are not the principal motivation behind the coordinated offensive against the Lopez family’s control of Meralco; the attack is against the family perceived to be directing or tolerating highly critical coverage of the administration on TV and radio, and is therefore political.
Consider Santiago. Since 2004, she has been one of the administration’s fiercest supporters. Consider Santiago’s co-chair of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, the scion of a certain political family. Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo is not known to do anything without the support of his mother. (Consider his stance when Rep. Jose de Venecia was elected Speaker of the House for a fifth time, and his position when De Venecia was ousted.) At least he knows enough to remember the talking points he’s given. “First of all, the main issue for the day is transparency,” he said in an interview. Is it a coincidence that the man leading the charge for a change in management in Meralco is also blowing on the transparency trumpet? Winston Garcia, president of the Government Service Insurance System, said Meralco management was giving him the runaround, even though he was a director on Meralco’s own board. Consider, finally, what Garcia told the ABS-CBN News Channel: “And the most intriguing question that I ask them is: How sure are you that these pilferages are not done by management? I’m not accusing [anyone of] anything but since they couldn’t give me specifics of the pilferage, how can we not tell the public that management is not part of these pilferages? That’s why I’m calling for more transparency in Meralco.”
The sly use of non-accusatory accusations is the telltale signature of a political campaign. What does this all mean? Let us put it this way: Anyone who thinks that the administration’s renewed focus on Meralco will necessarily result in lower electricity rates will be in for a rude jolt.
To be sure, we cannot go to the other extreme, and hold, with Sen. Joker Arroyo, that no one else other than the Lopez family can run Meralco. Arroyo said this week he would “not advocate” a regime change in Meralco “because nobody knows how to run that company except the Lopezes.” “Who will run it? The government? Napocor [National Power Corp.]? It will just fail,” he said. That was essentially the same argument against those who sought to unseat the Ramon Cojuangco family from Philippine Long Distance Co. And yet consider PLDT now, under the management of turnaround expert Manuel V. Pangilinan.
In the long run, the Lopez family’s continued control of Meralco must rest, not on a legacy of paternalism, certainly not on government fiat, but on consumer-serving, customer-pleasing performance.
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