3 agencies to help DOE in gencos’ cases By Lenie Lectura
M
@llectura
ALACAñANG has instr ucted the Energ y Reg ulator y Commission (ERC), the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assist the Department of Energy (DOE) in building up cases against 17 power generation companies (gencos) cited for violating energy policies. According to DOE–Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Director Mario Marasigan, a letter from Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles was sent to the agencies concerned.
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“We have presented to the Cabinet Assistance System the power outlook and the concerns that we see in the power industry, whereby Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles instructed DOJ, PCC and ERC to coordinate with us. We had initial coordination with ERC and PCC while preparing for DOJ,” said Marasigan in a text message. In April, the DOE said it would refer to the ERC, PCC and DOJ for assistance in enforcement and in building up cases against gencos for their prolonged power plant outages; the grid system operator for not securing enough firmcontracted ancillar y reser ves (AS); and the distribution utilities
(DUs) for not conducting competitive power supply auctions on time. “We have been working closely with the other enforcement agencies in pursuing options available to us to ensure that unplanned, prolonged, and perhaps even alleged malicious activities of certain players in the energy sector are scrutinized, investigated, and possibly penalized by the ERC, the PCC, and the DOJ,” the DOE said Thursday. The Energy department, whose chief, Secretar y A lfonso Cusi is under fire from senators for having assured them on April 27 there would be no brownouts, also reminded DUs and the system operator of their contracting
Friday, June 4, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 233
obligations to address the needed capacity increases for a reliable power system for its consumers. The Senate Committee on Energy, chaired by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, is calling a hearing soon on this week’s spate of power disruptions in Luzon, which Gatchalian said affected 339,000 households in 90 barangays in 60 cities and provinces. Gatchalian promised to open the inquiry soon after Sen. Manny Pacquiao, in a privilege speech on Wednesday, called out Cusi for “incompetence” and said he cannot pass on the blame simply to private companies as he has command responsibility. See “3 agencies,” A2
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 30 pages |
PANDEMIC LOANS SWELL GOVT DEBT TO P10.991T n
PHL BANKS’ OPERATING ENVIRONMENT AMONG ‘CHALLENGING’ IN ASIA
F
ITCH Ratings has identified the Philippine economy as one of the most challenging operating environments for banks among emerging markets in Asia. In its recent commentary on emerging market banks across the world, international credit watcher Fitch Ratings said the Philippines, along with India and Sri Lanka, face the greatest challenges for banks this year. “The operating environment (OE) remains challenging— though to varying degrees—in most emerging market banking systems in Asia, excluding China. This is because most jurisdictions' OE have weakened in the past 12 months even if their outlooks are now stable,” Fitch Ratings said. “Challenges are greatest in India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines,” it added.
IT’S WORLD BICYCLE DAY! Cyclists are seen crossing a drainage canal as a construction crew does its work below, along the Riverbanks area in Provident Village, Marikina City. The city government is constructing drainage systems in various places in the city to alleviate severe flooding during the rainy season. NONOY LACZA
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By Bianca Cuaresma
@BcuaresmaBM
HE national government’s (NG) total outstanding debt continued to swell to a fresh record-high in April this year, as the country resorts to more borrowings to finance its pandemic response. See “Pandemic,” A2
PESO exchange rates n US 47.8210
Fitch Ratings identified the ”stubborn infection rate” as the main challenge in the country as it is “testing past years’ underwriting standards” of banks. For India, the surge in new coronavirus cases are exacerbating pre-pandemic issues and are affecting banks’ asset quality and capital shortfalls. For Sri Lanka, sovereign and macroeconomic risks are the problem. Earlier this month, Fitch Ratings had warned of “diminished revenue growth opportunities” and “worsening non-performing loans ratio” for Philippine banks, as the economy continues to grapple with recession. Banks will particularly be hit, the credit watcher said, because the weaker economic outlook translates to low revenue growth opportunities for banks as credit demand remains muted and as See “PHL,” A2
PHAP prefers voluntary licensing on vaxx By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
D
@TyronePiad
ESPITE concerns about potentia l ly restr ictive measures, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) maintained that securing volun-
tary licensing is the way to go if other companies seek to produce Covid-19 vaccines. The industry group said that several vaccine candidates have been approved or are in advanced clinical trials already in less than a year, through technology transfer collaborations among companies.
“In just a few months following close to 300 partnerships globally, these collaborations have been successful in increasing production from zero to 2.2 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of May,” PHAP told the BusinessMirror. It is estimated that 11 billion doses will be produced this year, the
group added. “At the moment, unprecedented voluntary licensing and technology transfer agreements, bilateral agreements, and working with established organizations are models that are producing quality and safe vaccines,” it continued.
n japan 0.4365 n UK 67.7863 n HK 6.1636 n CHINA 7.4937 n singapore 36.1677 n australia 37.0613 n EU 58.4038 n SAUDI arabia 12.7526
See “PHAP,” A2
Source: BSP (June 3, 2021)