12 Dec 2007
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) acknowledged the support and assistance of other government agencies in the privatization of the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo).
“As I’ve said before, everything is in place for the bidding for the right to operate TransCo. We would not have gotten this far if not for the support of almost the entire Executive branch of government,” said PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Jose C. Ibazeta.
The government’s readiness for the TransCo bidding was the result primarily of the joint efforts of representatives of government agencies comprising the PSALM Board, namely, the Departments of Finance, Energy, Justice, Trade and Industry, and Budget and Management, the National Economic and Development Authority, and PSALM.
The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, PSALM’s statutory counsel, provided support on legal issues.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also provided invaluable assistance in vetting the potential bidders’ compliance with nationality requirements, a very critical criterion in the bidding,” Mr. Ibazeta pointed out. On the request of the bidders, the SEC issued legal opinions confirming that the prequalified bidders met the Filipino nationality requirement for the operation of TransCo.
Mr. Ibazeta also commended TransCo and the National Power Corporation, saying, “We had to crunch an incredible amount of technical data to get to this stage of the privatization, and the cooperation of TransCo and National Power was indispensable in this regard.”
“The Energy Regulatory Commission also worked double time to formulate essential parameters for the operation of TransCo that will ensure the protection of consumers,” he added.
“We are grateful for the support of all these agencies. All the time, effort and resources committed by these agencies to the TransCo privatization would go to waste if we don’t push through with the bidding. That would be a terrible loss for the country,” Mr. Ibazeta said.
PSALM is looking forward to a successful bidding for the TransCo concession on 12 December. The proceeds from the privatization will go to paying the debt of National Power, thereby relieving the government of a considerable portion of the country’s debt burden.
Strategic Communications and Partnership Division |