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Nowadays
people cannot help but be wary of new appointments to
sensitive government positions, considering in
particular all the corruption allegations against the
Arroyo administration—some of which are now under
investigation.
The
timing of new appointments is likewise suspicious, as
the present government moves into its penultimate year
in office. Often enough, nearing the end of its term, a
sitting administration tends to make the most of the
opportunities that come its way.
Grumblings, therefore, unsurprisingly accompanied the
appointments of former Pampanga representative Zenaida
Ducut, as the new chairman of the Energy Regulatory
Commission, or ERC, in place of former Isabela
representative Rodolfo Albano; and former Socioeconomic
Planning secretary Romulo Neri, as administrator of the
Social Security System, or SSS, in place of Cora de la
Paz-Bernardo.
As with
any government socioeconomic position, a presidential
appointee’s fitness for a post is measured by a number
of parameters, including qualification, competence,
character and, of course, loyalty or allegiance to the
appointing authority. Rarely will a sitting
administration appoint a member of the political
opposition to a sensitive government post, and by
sensitive, one pertains to any position that directly
handles or manages government money.
In the
case of recent appointees, particularly Ducut and Neri,
there may be a case for quibbling relative to these
parameters. Ducut, for one, admits to an urgent need to
learn about her new job since her only experience with
the energy sector was as co-author of the Electric Power
Reform Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira), as she
represented in Congress the Second Congressional
District of Pampanga. Obviously, the former lawmaker’s
expertise is legislation. But her present task now moves
her to the side of regulation, and of a technical and
complex industry at that, which, contrary to her initial
statements, is not “easy to learn.”
Worse is
that the industry regulation is prone to strong lobbying
from major business groups that are politically
connected—the Lopezes, who are seemingly aligned with
the opposition, and the Aboitizes, who are seemingly
aligned with the administration.
While
the spokesman of state-run National Power Corp. was
quick to point out that, in fairness to the new ERC
chief, “there [was] still no basis to evaluate [her]
since she [was] new,” one can also point out that the
commission’s track record under the Arroyo
administration—and its history of leadership of people
from outside the energy industry—speak for themselves.
To
recall, prior to Ducut, the ERC was also headed by a
former lawmaker with seemingly little technical
qualification to oversee the energy industry. And prior
to him, in its early years, the commission’s members
included Leticia Ibay and Oliver Butalid—while former
associates of Mrs. Arroyo—and presidential chief of
staff Tomas Alcantara at the Department of Trade and
Industry during the Aquino and Ramos years, likewise
seemingly lacked technical qualifications for the ERC
post.
Question
is, had the Arroyo-appointed ERC been competently
regulating the industry and safeguarding public interest
since the enactment of the Epira, would the country
still find itself in its present predicament in relation
to electricity prices and distribution monopolies? Will
the country still be facing another power crisis in two
or three years after suffering from the same in the
early 1990s?
In a
news report, Ducut was quoted as saying her priorities
would include a review of the following: pending rate
cases and consumer complaints; the mechanisms for fixing
rates and their different components, including
system-loss charges and lifeline charges; the mechanisms
for rates adjustments to ensure that only reasonable
costs are passed on to consumers; and lowering of
electricity prices.
Just a
review of all these parameters may already require a
rethinking of the power-industry reform law, which took
both the House and Senate several years to draft. How,
then, can people expect a new energy commission, or its
new chairman, to learn the nitty-gritty of the energy
industry in just a short time? It may have been a
different story had the President named a former Energy
secretary or an energy professional or a doctorate in
electrical engineering to the ERC post, rather than a
former lawmaker and political supporter from her home
province.
This is
not to say that Ducut cannot pull it off. She may yet
surprise the public with her capabilities as a
regulator. Also, she may yet prove to be a competent
government manager, and there seems to be no questions
on her character and, obviously, her loyalty or
allegiance to the appointing authority. However, one
cannot help but be concerned that given her seemingly
lack of technical qualifications for the ERC job, the
public may end up shortchanged.
In the
case of Neri’s appointment to the SSS, he is obviously
qualified to serve as a financial manager, and perhaps
as SSS administrator. He has likewise demonstrated his
competence as an economic planner and government manager
while at the House’s planning and budget office, and
later as Budget secretary, and then as Socioeconomic
Planning secretary, and until August 1, as head of the
Commission on Higher Education.
Neither
can one question his loyalty or allegiance to the
appointing authority, as manifested by his continued
protection of the President in relation to the
much-criticized broadband deal now under separate
investigations by the Senate and the Ombudman. Such
loyalty to the President was the obvious mark of his
character, and seemingly, as far as the Chief Executive
is concerned, that made him more than qualified to head
the SSS, as well as her National Social-Welfare Program.
It’s now
a wait-and-see game for these two appointees. One can
only hope the President truly realizes the possible
repercussions of her twin appointments. But then, as she
readies to exit from government service, sincere
interest in public welfare does not seem to be her
primary objective. Perhaps political patronage and
payment of political debts are the order of the day.
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