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AN
opposition legislator called for the removal of
royalties on natural gas and the value-added tax (VAT)
on electricity, which he said are long-term solutions on
the electricity problem.
Nacionalista Party Rep. Teofisto Guingona III of
Bukidnon also scored the subsidy program of the
government, describing it as “band-aid” solution to the
rising electricity cost.
“Hindi
pwede ang tapal tapal na solusyon. Parang band aid.
We need lasting and sustainable solution. Kapag
naubos ang subsidy na yan, magtitinginan na lang
tayo,” said Guingona in a news conference.
Guingona
said that if the royalties on natural gas were removed,
the P4.36 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) price of electricity
will immediately go down to P2.50. He said 50 percent of
electricity comes from plants using natural gas.
“Pangalawa,
kapag iyang VAT [on electricity] ay tinanggal,
bababa kaagad ng 12 percent ang kuryente,”
Guingona said.
“Iyan
ang mga solusyon na pangmatagalan at pangmalawakan at
hindi pantapal na solusyon na ginagawa ng gobyerno,”
he added.
He cited
as an example the case of Shell, which announced in 2006
that its recovery period on natural gas—during which it
spent $5 billion—has ended.
Guingona
said that during the recovery period, 70 percent of
sales goes to Shell so that it can recover the $5
billion it put in the project.
“So
noong 2006 nag-annnounce ang Shell na
tapos na po ang recovery period, so wala na po
iyong 70 percent na pumupunta sa Shell.
Ang nangyari 60-40, 60 percent sa gobyerno,
40 percent sa Shell,” Guingona said.
Worse,
the royalty going into the coffers of the Department of
Energy (DOE) could not be accounted for.
“Hanggang
ngayon hindi pa ipinapaliwanag ni [Energy] Secretary
[Angelo] Reyes kung ano ang ginagawa nila sa P30
billion na kanilang kinokolekta sa buwis sa
natural gas,” Guingona said.
He said
the DOE should back its explanation with supporting
documents so that the people may know where the money
was spent.
Asked
what would be the immediate effect of removing the
royalties on natural gas, Guingona cited the study
conducted by Dante Canlas of the University of the
Philippines School of Economics, which says that if the
royalties on natural gas were removed, the price of
electricity will go down.
Makati
Mayor Jejomar Binay, United Opposition president, also
chided the administration for the P500 subsidy to those
who consume 100 kWh or less, saying it was “too little
too late,” and would just serve as another opportunity
for corruption.
Binay
said the system of handing out the subsidies must be
very clear and transparent, and the accountabilities
must be very well defined, lest it become just a
repetition of the fertilizer-fund scam.
“Hindi
na naman natin alam kung mapupunta talaga ang pera doon
sa mga karapat-dapat na tumanggap. Bakit hindi na lang
kasi ibaba ang presyo ng gasolina at elektrisidad?”
Binay emphasized. He added that the administration
itself has admitted that it has experienced a windfall
from the E-VAT collections on oil, which will precisely
fund the power-subsidy program.
Earlier,
Binay proposed pegging the E-VAT on oil and all other
energy components such as natural gas, hydro, geothermal
and coal on the prices of these commodities at the 2001
levels.
“Why
collect the windfall, only to give it back to the people
you collected them from in the first place?” he asked. |
