CITING “national security” concerns, Sen. JV Ejercito yesterday urged government to buy the 40 percent shares owned by the Chinese government, through the State Grid Corporation of China, in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
Ejercito made the call days after the NGCP placed the Luzon Grid on “red alert” and instructed the Manila Electric Company to implement rotational brownouts after five power plants went on forced outage amid the searing summer heat.
With the maritime territorial dispute with China, Ejercito said the more the need to buy the shares and ensure that NGCP remain in government hands.
“We all know we have a dispute with China. What if one day, they decide to switch off the grid, that would paralyze the entire economy?” Ejercito said in Filipino in an interview with radio dzBB.
“Since this is a national security concern, all things that concerns the welfare of the Filipino people should be scrutinized and reviewed by the government,” he added.
Ejercito stressed that any utility that concerns national security should be under the control of the government.
“I have nothing personal against the Chinese people. Ang ayoko lang ay Chinese government di mapagkatiwalaan (What I don’t like is that the Chinese government cannot be trusted),” he said.
The NGCP handles the distribution of electricity across the Philippines, linking power plants and consumers throughout the country, and supplying almost 78 percent of households in the country of over 105 million. It was privatized in 2009, with the State Grid Corporation of China taking a 40 percent stake.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the government should look at the NGCP franchise to ensure it is performing its mandate amid the power interruptions.
He said franchise holders should know that their franchise is “a privilege and not a right.”
