A HOUSE of Representatives committee on Tuesday said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) might need to undergo a “national security review” amid foreign ownership concerns over the country’s grid system.
The NGCP could have violated the Philippine Anti-Dummy law, which bars foreigners from going around foreign ownership limits through Filipino proxies, Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda told a House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday.
NGCP lawyer Pia Zobel San Diego, who was present at the hearing, asked the committee for more time to prepare a response and present it at a future hearing.
“We respectfully acknowledge Congress’ legislative power to review, refine and revise the existing legislation as well as the NGCP franchise granted by Congress,” she told lawmakers. “We request that the NGCP be given time to submit a response to address the concerns of the committee.”
NGCP Assistant Vice President head of Public Relations Leonor Felipa Cynthia P. Alabanza neither answered three calls nor immediately replied to a Viber message seeking comment.
“[We] could subject the NGCP to a national security review by the IIPCCC (Inter-Agency Investment Promotion Coordination Committee),” said Mr. Salceda, who heads the House ways and means committee.
“For violations of the Anti-Dummy law, the penalty is forfeiture of such right, franchise, privilege and property or business enjoyed or acquired,” he added.
Lawmakers and security officials had raised concerns over the State Grid Corp. of China’s (SGCC) involvement with the NGCP. The Chinese company has a 40% stake in the power grid operator. It gained partial ownership of the NGCP in 2007, running it alongside other Philippine companies.
The NGCP had dismissed the security risks, saying the Chinese are just “technical advisers” for power grid operations.
Meanwhile, the House committee is considering revising the NGCP’s tax structure. Mr. Salceda said it should be taxed like a water distribution utility by imposing a windfall tax on excess profits.
The congressman also pushed the refund of about P204 billion in alleged excess revenues of the NGCP, which could be used to pay for the monthly power expenses of consumers.
“The presentation was just shown to us. We have no idea how the P200 billion was computed,” Ms. San Diego told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the hearing.
“We’ll just submit a comprehensive report addressing the comments or the concerns of the committee,” she added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
