AT THE TIME of writing, it has not been reported that President Duterte has signed the bill awarding MORE Power the franchise to supply electricity in Iloilo.
The clock is ticking.
Constitutionally, the position is clear. Article VI Section 27(1) says:
“Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he approves the same, he shall sign it; otherwise he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the House where it originated… The President shall communicate his veto of any bill… within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it.”
What is happening?
In a letter published in PN on Dec. 23, 2018 Luis Miguel A. Cacho, president and CEO Panay Electric Company, Inc. (PECO) is not conceding defeat.
Previously MORE Power’s president Roel Castro said that MORE Power would invest P700 million in the next three years in the “acquisition, upgrading, and maintenance of the (sic) power distribution system.”
I believe that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) should urgently reach agreement with PECO to continue the franchise until and unless a decision has been reached ‘with finality’ that MORE Power has been awarded the authority to proceed. MORE Power has consistently made the assumption that the infrastructure, presently owned by PECO, will be transferred by eminent domain (compulsory purchase) to MORE Power. This assumption has yet to be fully tested.
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The clock is also ticking for the United States government to make a convincing case to the Canadian authorities to extradite Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd. Meng faces US claims that she misled multinational banks about Iran-linked transactions, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions.
Unease, perhaps paranoia, about Huawei is contagious.
The United Kingdom, and its former colonies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have all raised concerns about the security of Huawei’s equipment.
Even incarcerated Sen. Leila de Lima has filed a resolution seeking a Senate inquiry into the Philippines P20-billion deal with China to install 12,000 closed-circuit cameras in Metro Manila and Davao City. Huawei is supplying some of the equipment.
If the inquiry takes place, I believe Huawei should be invited to respond.
After all, Huawei is also supplying equipment to Mislatel, tapped to be the Philippines’ third telecommunications player./PN
