WEDDING IN CONGRESS: What’s this about Rep. Jules A. Ledesma (1st Dist., Negros Occ.) asking his congressmen colleagues about his possibly getting married right there in the august chamber of the House of Representatives?

As related to us by Rep. Imee R. Marcos (2nd Dist., Ilocos Norte), the dashing widower from Bacolod reasoned out that if the premises could be used for necrological services, there was no reason why they could not be used for a (his) wedding.

The smitten solon plans to wed actress Assunta de Rossi just before the 2004 national elections. Serving his third and last term, Ledesma may just parley the attendant publicity for pole-vaulting to a higher office.

How did the lawmakers react to the idea? Imee said they were so dumbfounded, nobody managed to utter a word.

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INSIDE JOB?: Imee came over for coffee with the boys at Annabel’s in Quezon City last Thursday. Of course there was doting former Press Secretary Greg Cendana, who looks better now that he has shed some avoirdupois.

Seeing former Public Works Minister Aber Canlas, Imee remembered having noticed that the thick narra planks on which the huge flag hangs behind the Batasan podium were missing, or appeared to be, as there is now in their place only a plain wall coated with primer.

Asked if she was sure the massive floor-to-ceiling paneling installed by Canlas was really narra, Imee noted with a grin that those slabs were “Imeldific” — which means to us Marcos-watchers that they cannot but be, like Ma’am’s diamonds, the real thing.

Maybe the sergeant-at-arms should be dispatched to check out the newer mansions of some House leaders?

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BONGBONG ILOCANIZED: In the coffee chat, Imee also said that her brother Bongbong, now governor of Ilocos Norte, feels comfy and secure with his family in Laoag and appears to have no wish to come down to Manila.

We can understand that, what with the poisoned environment and the general disorder in the metropolis. But what about the kids — is there a school up there good enough for the Marcos youngsters? Imee assured us that her late father made sure there were many good schools in the North.

Kidding Bongbong in absentia, she noted that the governor has become so Ilocanized that his borrowed British accent had been hardened by the dialect. We imagined Bongbong melting into the hearth of his ever-faithful kailian.

Examining Imee across the table sparring with the boys, we remember those days when they were innocent kids thrust into a fabled life. She should not now lose her still outgoing character that the pomp and glitter of those years nearly smothered.

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ROOSTER RELEGATED: And then, which came first, the egg or the hen, or the rooster — if we may add him in the loop?

The chicken-and-egg question has been sort of scrambled when we published kitchen talk (Postscript, 30July02) that poultry eggs in the market are no longer the same eggs of yore that were produced with the sexual aid of the rooster.

Dr. Cristino Collado (animal nutrition) reacted in an email: “Practically all eggs intended for table consumption are asexually produced, i.e., without the sexual cooperation of roosters. This is because female chickens, when they reach the age of 23-25 weeks or around six months old, will, by nature, have had enough hormone (estrogen) of their own and will produce eggs naturally.

“Chickens do not need roosters to produce eggs,” she said. The poor rooster who used to strut around to catch her attention is “needed only if the eggs are to be used for breeding purposes.”

Collado added: “I’m not convinced that hormones, whether fed or injected, are being used in egg production. It is not practical, much less economical. Hormones are expensive.

“But I won’t argue the possibility that our chickens — and pigs and other livestock — are being fed with ingredients that belong to the GMO (genetically modified organism) category. All our manufactured feeds contain corn and soybean meal. Both are imported.” And possibly tainted with GMO, we might add.

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JAWORSKI PROBE: Perhaps by coincidence, that day we listed (Postscript, 30July02) seven coal-fired power plants in the National Power Corp. system that have been emitting vast amounts of toxic wastes, Sen. Robert Jaworski stood in the Senate to initiate a legislative inquiry.

That was a smart move by Jaworski, chairman of the environment committee, after he displeased the colleagues he left behind with the dwindling opposition as he moved over to the pro-administration majority in the chamber.

Napocor’s coal plants marked by Jaworski for investigation were: Calaca 1, 300 megawatts; Calaca 2, 300 MW; Pagbilao, 764 MW; Masinloc, 600 MW; Sual, 1,294 MW; QPPL, 443 MW; and Naga Coal, 105 MW.

The first six are on Luzon and the last is in the Visayas. Together, they have a capacity of 3,806 megawatts, which is a small drop in Napocor’s 12,000-MW bucket brimming with an excess of some 5,000 MW.

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DIRTY MILLIONS: These coal plants have been confirmed to be slowly poisoning communities around them with mercury, lead, arsenic and other lethal elements. If only for this, it makes sense to close them. Their capacities can be covered by more efficient plants in the grid that are underutilized anyway.

Napocor insiders have said, however, that shutting down the coal-fired plants would be a difficult decision since some key people have been earning millions under the table from coal procurement.

Let’s see how Jaworski handles this game. With the world having grown environment-conscious, the inquiry could just be his saving grace, if not the crowning glory, of his generally uneventful stint as senator. Or it could be his crucifixion.

President Arroyo herself can earn some pogi points by presiding over their closure, thereby upgrading system-wide efficiency, cutting corrupt payments for excess and unused power, lowering electricity rates further, and protecting the environment.

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NAPOCOR BIDS DEFENDED: From Napocor, we have this email from Dennis S. Gana, corporate communications manager, assuring us that they have taken steps to “ensure clean air, water and sustainable environment in the areas where we operate.”

Gana also denied any impropriety in their conduct of coal biddings. “The Corporation has not allowed anyone, whether Atong Ang as alleged in your column or anybody else, to wield his influence and undermine the integrity of our bidding process,” he said.

Reiterating that Napocor was “committed to transparency,” he said, “We practice a two-envelope public bidding for our coal requirements where technical and financial offers are placed in sealed envelopes.”

“Bidders whose tenders are technically acceptable and compliant to the agreed Terms of Reference are declared pre-qualified and may proceed to financial evaluation,” he said. “The price offers are assessed and ranked accordingly. Evaluation of both technical compliance and financial tenders are computer-aided and happen all in a day or two and in full view of the bidders.”

He added: “It is a mistake to impute that Mr. Ang would only gather the bidders in one room and declare a winner all by himself. Not in the history of NPC that this has ever taken place.”

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COMPUTERIZED PROCESS: Gana explained further: “During the time of the Estrada administration where Mr. Ang is closely associated with, NPC has devised a computer program where the bids are evaluated similar to the electronic bidding program that we have now. The bids are flashed, evaluated, and ranked using a wide screen for all bidders to see.

“If bidders feel there was less transparency in the way we have handled our bidding, they can let us know about their concerns and we will try to address them.

“The e-bidding program that we have instituted earlier this year will ensure complete transparency in our biddings. It is a very sophisticated system that will deter and prevent the issues that you have raised in your column.”

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NO INSPECTION JUNKETS: On the issue of inspection trips, Gana clarified that “pre-shipment inspection of coal shipments from the country of origin is part of the Terms of Reference of the coal bidding” He said that pre-shipment inspection from the country of origin is an accepted industry practice.

said the 20 Napocor personnel bound for China, Indonesia, and Australia to conduct pre-shipment inspection will not leave for a junket (contrary to what some insiders told Postscript earlier).

se are technical people, he said, who have an official duty to perform. However, their trip did not push through, according to Gana, after the management decided to just hire third-party inspectors to take their place.