WHO MUST PAY?: Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone is right. Why should we captive electricity consumers be made to suffer and pay for the mismanagement and anomalies in the National Power Corp.?

It was a good thing the Energy Regulatory Commission has seen the wisdom of rejecting the petitions of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) seeking power rate increases totaling P2.25 per kilowatt-hour to pay off Napocor debts and losses.

We consumers are not responsible for those gargantuan debts arising mostly from mismanagement. We were not consulted before the extraordinary obligations were contracted. So why should we pay for them?

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HOLIDAY RESPITE: Through the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, PSALM was formed to sell Napocor assets and pay off Napocor’s debt.

But the law also allowed the government (meaning us taxpayers) to absorb Napocor’s outstanding obligations that cannot be covered by the sale or privatization of assets and the billing revenues.

Note that the disapproval of the rate increase may be hanging on a slim thread. Explaining its rejection, ERC director Francis Saturnino Juan said PSALM failed to submit the pertinent documents and its revenue statements.

Is this then just a Christmas reprieve – granted in the same spirit as a court’s temporary restraining order? If after the holidays, PSALM submits the needed paper work, will its petition for rate increase then be on its way to approval?

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UNIVERSAL CHARGE: The regulatory commission dismissed last Nov. 15 four petitions of PSALM to impose universal charge for 25 years to recover Napocor’s “stranded debts” and “stranded contract costs.”

Stranded debts are its financial obligations still not paid from the proceeds of the sale of assets. Stranded contract costs, on the other hand, refer to the contract costs of electricity from Independent Power Producers that are higher than the actual selling price.

The ERC also observed that the calculation of stranded contract costs included fuel costs, the recovery of which is governed by a separate mechanism.

Juan said that in the PSALM petition for the recovery of stranded debts, there were some inconsistencies in the calculation of the proceeds from the sale of Napocor generation plants. That, however, could be corrected in a subsequent petition.

“Although recovery of Napocor stranded debts and stranded contract costs is recognized and sanctioned by law,” he said, “the ERC is bound to vary the reasonable amounts that will be allowed for recovery through the universal charge.”

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CANCER HAUS: The Child Haus, which looks after some young cancer patients, need not quarrel with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office over their having to leave the Quezon Institute compound that government engineers said must be vacated for safety reasons.

Because of an “angled” presentation, a TV news program had given the impression that the PCSO was responsible for the “eviction” of Child Haus from the QI compound in Quezon City.

The PCSO said it merely notified Child Haus about having to vacate the building so as not to imperil the lives and safety of the children in their care. A follow-up story on the TV network’s sister radio station failed to straighten out the facts.

It would help if the Child Haus and the Ricky Reyes Foundation, which operates it, explained honestly the background of its anti-cancer program, the responsibilities of all parties helping it and the context of the relocation.

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PCSO HELP: The acronym “Child” stands for Center for Health Improvement and Life Development for young cancer patients from the provinces. It is supported by PCSO, MMDA, the Metro Manila Mayors Spouses Foundation and TLRC.

Child Haus was conceived by Dr. Marvi Abesamis, a respected pediatric oncologist at the government-owned East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. Its chair is the daughter Luli of former President Gloria Arroyo.

The operation, management and housekeeping are the responsibility of the foundation headed by hair stylist Ricky Reyes. The PCSO provides the space rent-free and an annual cash subsidy of P1.2 million. The other stakeholders support the program in their own ways.

The memorandum of agreement between the PCSO and the Reyes foundation stipulates that the Child Haus use of its space, provided free by the charity office, is “contemporaneous” with that of the PCSO’s stay in the compound.

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CLEAR THE AIR: But the PCSO followed the recommendations of the structural engineers of the DPWH and the Quezon City engineering office to immediately vacate the main QI building to protect the occupants and the public.

The sweepstakes office is relocating to the Philippine International Convention Center on Roxas Blvd. In view of its departure, the PCSO alerted the Reyes foundation two months ago about the need to relocate Child Haus to a safer place, which is the foundation’s obligation.

Upon its representation, meanwhile, the Child Haus was able to get a six-month extension by the Philippine Tuberculosis Society to stay in the QI compound.

Also on its own initiative, the PCSO talked to the heads of the V. Luna Hospital and the East Avenue Medical Center for the relocation of the Child Haus wards. It said it would continue its financial help to the children afflicted with cancer and other dreaded diseases.

It would help clear the air if Ricky Reyes absolved PCSO of any responsibility for his own failure to find a new home for the cancer-stricken children. Maybe he should also clarify to the public the responsibilities of the Child Haus and the agencies helping it.