THE Department of Energy (DoE) is considering the imposition of penalties on generation companies if they are found to be at fault in causing an unscheduled power shutdown.
“We’re looking at the causers pay policy,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella told participants of IBC Asia’s Power and Electricity Week, a two-day conference at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.
He said the policy aims to look into the cause of the unplanned power interruptions or outages, and the entities responsible for it.
“We have load interruptions caused by the forced or the unplanned outage of some of the plants. So we want to look at how to make them accountable,” he said.
He said the assessment would look into whether the unscheduled shutdown was done on purpose, caused by negligence — whether gross or simple, as well as the accountability of the power plant’s board members, considering their response to the problem and their competence.
“It’s basically addressing that level of responsibility to the entire system,” he told reporters, when pressed further on the DoE’s proposal.
He said the policy is needed because the cost of the outages is eventually passed on to consumers, resulting in the burden being shared by all despite the problem being caused by one or a few.
He said the penalty would still be subject to discussion.
“It’s a policy that we will look into with the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission), and have it tested [on the] players [on its] effect to them,” he said. — Victor V. Saulon
DAVAO CITY — Fisherfolk here are asking the Department of Agriculture (DA) to increase the tuna allocation for distribution at the city’s wet markets to 20 metric tons (MT) per day from the current 3.5 MT due to the large excess catch that needs to go into cold storage.
“We are faced with the problem of not being able to distribute excess tuna supply to the local wet markets as we are limited to the 3.5 MT allocation per day,” said Argie Lumibao, United Davao Fishport Business Association President and the city’s Fisheries and Resource Management Council (FARMC) chairperson.
Mr. Lumibao said the industry is often forced to use cold storage for next-day distribution of product, which means extra costs.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Davao Region (BFAR-11) has confirmed the need to increase the tuna allocation of the city’s wet markets in view of the increasing population as well as leisure and business visitors.
“BFAR, in consultation with stakeholders and the FARMC, will support the increase of 3.5 MT to 20MT of non-exportable tuna and tuna-like fish species,” BFAR Davao Region Director Fatma M. Idris said.
Ms. Idris noted that the 3.5-MT quota is contained in the certification of the Necessity to Import Fresh/Chilled/Frozen Tuna-like Fish Species for distribution in Davao City wet markets that took effect on Nov. 17, 2003.
“BFAR acknowledges that Davao City has a growing population, an expanding horizon in business, and attraction to foreign and local tourists as it is where President Rodrigo R. Duterte hails from,” she said.
Councilor Conrado C. Baluran, vice-chair of the city council’s agriculture committee, also said that the city is being deprived of sufficient tuna supply due to the quota.
BIGGER PORT
Lawyer Glen A. Pangapalad, general manager of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), said he will brief Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol on the fishing sector’s request. PFDA is a government-owned and controlled corporation that manages regional fishports, including those in Navotas, Iloilo, Zamboanga, General Santos City, Davao City, Pangasinan and Sorsogon.
“We welcome the request of tuna vendors, especially because we have future plans to expand the (Davao City) port to accommodate more vessels,” he said, which would mean the facility would have the capacity to handle the offloading of 20 MT of tuna.
Mr. Pangapalad said the Davao fishport upgrade has been included in the list of priority infrastructure projects with an allocation of P500 million, but the project is still awaiting approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board. — Carmencita A. Carillo
PHILIPPINE REALTY and Holdings Corp. (PhilRealty) said it will be acquiring P84.24 million worth of condominium units from Meridian Assurance Corp., which is expected to provide rental income of at least P3 million a year.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the property developer said it secured board approval to proceed with the purchase of properties from Meridian in exchange for stocks of the company.
This will include a total of 135.87 million shares priced at 62 centavos apiece, and will be taken from the unissued portion of the company’s authorized capital stock. The price is based from the rounded-off average of the stock price in the 90-day period starting Jan. 25 to April 21.
Meanwhile, PhilRealty said it has submitted a bid to purchase six lots in Baguio City comprising 16,158 square meters (sq.m.) for a price of P300.5 million, or P18,598 per sq.m.
The property called El Retiro is located near city landmarks including the Mansion House, Wright Park, and Mines View Park.
PhilRealty has just come out of corporate rehabilitation in March 2015. In February of last year, the company underwent an equity restructuring in order to wipe out a P1.7-billion deficit. This prompted the company to reduce the par value of its shares from P1 to 50 centavos and bring down its authorized capital stock from P8 billion to P4 billion.
Incorporated in 1981, PhilRealty is engaged in the acquisition, development, sale, and leasing of real estate and personal properties. Some of its developments include The Alexandra, the Philippine Stock Exchange Centre, and La Isla Condominiums, all in Pasig City.
The company booked a P44.4-million net loss in the first quarter of 2017, higher than the net loss of P26.9 million it recorded in the same period a year ago.
Shares in PhilRealty rose by two centavos or 3.17% to 65 centavos at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia
