THERE'S ANOTHER variety of wrecking crew that
hounds the Duterte government. They’re the more virulent types that had been
unleashed by interest groups or individuals who felt there are officials in the
government today that cannot be persuaded to follow their bidding. I have
written about these creeping threats that are out to sow discord among the
President’s men. I can smell them from the distance from what comes out in the
press and it is easy to spot them.
The most recent target of this sinister black
propaganda are top government officials in the energy or power industry. I am
referring to Energy Secretary Al Cusi and National Transmission Corporation
Pres. Melvin Matibag. Why they are lumped together provide a clue who are
behind the plot to discredit them.
Cusi is being accused of bilking P100-billion for
power plant projects which were contracted by the Ramos government way back in
1993! The libelous item was so timed when Secretary Cusi sold his passenger and
cargo fleet the proceeds of which made him an instant billionaire.
The issues raised against Matibag of TRANSCO are
even more ridiculous and phantasmagoric. I checked on the engagement of Matibag
with TRANSCO and it was only last January 2017 that he was appointed to head
the agency which is under the Department of Energy but where Finance Sec. Sonny
Dominguez sits as Chairman. The poor guy is being accused of making billions
from the Right of Way negotiations when Transco was created by virtue of EPIRA
law in 2001.
Matibag might still be in college when the firm
started constructing and expanding those transmission lines and power pylons
which need to have road right of way as these traverse private properties.
There were conflicts in valuations and ownerships and a number of these had to
be settled in Court. Some cases caught up with Matibag who, to rightfully asked
the Land Registration Administration to intervene.
Another preposterous attempt at discrediting
President Matibag was that he demanded billions of pesos from energy players in
Visayas and Mindanao to have them interconnected to the grid. How nebulous can
this wrecking crew get. Mindanao and many parts in Visayas are not connected to
the grid as yet and I do not think that will happen soon.
Poor Matibag, he is also being crucified for being
hard on Telecom players when it was during his watch that finally DICT, Transco
and NGCP inked a Tripartite Agreement to support telco players, particularly
the lucky 3rd Telco company which has yet to be announced. TRANSCO which owns
the dark fiber assets that are embedded in the grounding accessory of the power
grid have become public only during the term of Melvin as President of the
corporation and Finance Sec. Dominguez as its Chairman. For decades these
assets and revenue potentials had been kept secret.
The travesty of this campaign to disgrace Cusi and
Matibag reveals a pattern of a well coordinated plot to remove them as they are
in the way of some oligarchs’ interest. Pres. Rodrigo Duterte had been fighting
these well-entrenched and highly influential characters that in the past and up
to the present control business.
The Department of Energy is a prime target because
it regulates power distribution, energy resources and generations and, by quirk
of some interwoven development, telecommunications.
To put it rather bluntly, let’s stop this cheap
black propaganda. The way to go? Negotiate for a more reasonable lease rental
of the government assets by adjusting the rent to current levels. Firms with
contracts that spells out revenue sharing should update remittance for what is
due the government. Since these black propagandists demands investigation on
the issues they raised then maybe we can start by unmasking those who leased
fibers from NGCP without Informing TRANSCO.
Machiavellian tactics won’t work with Duterte
government. Better do what is fair and just, pay your taxes rightly and
promptly. There is no need for intimidation or threats via economic terrorism.
This government is fair. It guarantees you security and free from harassments.
All it asks is for you to pay taxes because it needs all the money it can
muster for its BUILD, BUILD, BUILD program. After all you are the first to
benefit from it. Bear in mind too that President Duterte is the country’s best
tax reformist and most efficient tax collector. (Jun Ledesma)
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