The Philippine House of Representatives is
amenable to giving President Aquino emergency powers to deal with a threatened
energy supply crisis in 2015 but consumer and business groups and some House
members cautioned against the grant of such powers.
Bayan
Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said granting Aquino emergency powers was a dangerous
idea.
“It is
very dangerous to grant emergency powers to anyone with a dictatorial
propensity like President Aquino, as can be seen with his usurpation of
Congress’ power and now threatening the Supreme Court when it declared the
Disbursement Acceleration Program unconstitutional,” he said.
Colmenares
said he had proposed a bill which will, among others, prohibit the government
from selling what is left of the government’s energy assets and infuse capital
to rehabilitate and increase the capacity of these plants, and order the
Department of Energy to use the 175-billion-peso (US$4.04 billion) Malampaya
Fund to construct power plants.
But
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said the House would surely grant the President
emergency powers to address the looming power crisis.
“[It
is] long overdue. Many people [have been] urging him before,” he said in a text
message.
But he
said it was up to Aquino to specify what sort of emergency powers he wanted.
“Exactly what is this emergency power they want? The House will surely give
it.”
Energy
Secretary Jericho Petilla has proposed that the President declare a state of
emergency in the face of an imminent shortage of power supply in early 2015.
He said
the country’s contingency energy reserves would run below the minimum level set
by regulators in the middle of March 2015.
He
asked the President to invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform
Act (Epira) which authorises him to ask Congress for authority to establish
additional generating capacity.
The
President has yet to act on Petilla’s proposal but Communications Secretary
Sonny Coloma said Aquino was set to meet with Petilla later Tuesday.
DJ
Yapa, Riza T. Olchondra
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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