The House Committee on Legislative Franchises has given Manila Electric Co.(Meralco) a 'new lease on life'- 25 years to be exact—after it approved the consolidated bill seeking to grant the power utility a renewal of its franchise.
Paranaque City 2nd district Rep. Gus Tambunting, who heads the committee, cited the strong backing of various business groups and legislators to extend Meralco's franchise "because it is in the best interest of the country."
"For the past few months, we have held meetings to discuss Meralco's franchise application. Since then, we have received various letters of support," said Tambunting as he identified nearly two dozen business groups, including industry federations and the Japanese and British chambers of commerce.
Three measures—House Bill (HB) Nos.9793, 9813, and 10317—have been filed in the 19th Congress to grant an early extension to Meralco's franchise, which is set to expire in 2028.
The bills were filed by Albay's second-district Rep. Joey Salceda, Cagayan de Oro's second-district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, and Marinduque's lone-district Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
As the country's largest power distributor, Meralco services communities critical to the nation's economy, including the National Capital Region (NCR), which accounts for more than half of our gross domestic product (GDP).
In pushing for the bill's approval, Rodriguez said that marathon hearings conducted by the Committee on Legislative Franchise in recent months have managed to tackle all the issues concerning the renewal of Meralco's franchise.
Velasco, a former House Speaker, echoed this sentiment. "Everything has been fully discussed. No other issue has been put forward. Meralco has long been serving our country well, and they deserve to be granted a new franchise."
"I thank Chairman Gus Tambunting for his fair and extensive evaluation of the proposed extension of the franchise," Salceda said in a separate statement following the committee approval.
"The franchise is possibly the most important private bill for industrial policy in this country. Meralco services an area responsible for about half the country's entire GDP and about 26% of the population," he said.
The economist Solon adds that Meralco "is an exemplar of how service reliability can create economic growth and development."
"Meralco has also fully complied with the ERC's (Energy Regulatory Commission) rules and issuances. Some P48.3 billion in consumer refunds have also been delivered in full," he further said.
Salceda said he expects the franchise bill to sail smoothly through the plenary floor.
"The role of the franchise review process in Congress is to see whether a grantee has complied with its mandates. In this regard, there can be little question. Meralco has fulfilled its end of the current franchise law," the Bicolano said.
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