Nylenin Czar 833BBMLI 1310BBMLI Meralco – Shoot Me In The Dark Meralco the Philippines largest power distributor and the main power source of Metro Manila. Meralco is also an acronym for Manila Electric Railroad And Light Company, which was the company’s original name until it was changed in 1919. Let us first know the history of the company before we place our opinion. A Detroit businessman by the name of Charles M. Swift won the bid for the operation of a tramway and electricity as well to Manila and its suburbs. Meralco also bought public transportation Compañía de los Tranvías de Filipinas, a business that operated public transportation and ran Manila’s horse-drawn and steam-operated tramways. The Tramway in Manila The company operated a 52-mile tram transport from 1903 till the early part of World War II. In 1915 power generation became the main income of Meralco and in 1925 was acquired by Associated Gas and Electric or AGECO. By the end of WW2 most of AGECO’s facility was destroyed by the war since it was held by the Japanese Imperial Army under Formosa Power Company. The government held the company after the war with the autobus franchise by Halili Transport until 1962 when Don Eugenio López, Sr. bought the company. In 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos imposed Martial Law and issued Presidential Decree # 40, which forcibly nationalized the country’s electric generation and transmission.Ownership of the company was stripped from the López Family by decree, and placed under a shell company called the Meralco Foundation, Inc., controlled by cronies under the newly created state-run Napocor. By 1978, all of the Philippines’ major power plants, including most notably those previously owned by Meralco, were owned and operated by Napocor. Here’s comes the popular People Power Revolution in 1986 that toppled President Ferdinand Marcos. Corazon Aquino became president and she returned the company ownership to the Lopez Family, without them (Lopezes) paying anything for the state-funded improvements done during Martial Law. She also enacted an executive order that allowed the company to directly compete with Napocor. CRAZY ! In my opinion, Marcos may have sequestered the company but it benefited the Filipino people. The government made sure that power was affordable to everyone. Fees are minimal. There were millions of pesos in improvements and this alone the Lopezes’, should have paid them by cutting power rates in increments or lessened unneccessary fees. Since its FREE acquisition from Cory Aquino, Meralco has been known till this day for alleged excessive pricing. Then GSIS president Winston García, blamed Meralco’s inefficiency, its “BLOATED bureaucracy” and its sourcing of power from independent power producers (IPPs) also owned by the López Family themselves, and the need to amend the Electronic Power Industry Reform Act of 2001. The Lopezes said if the government is willing to turn Meralco into a government owned company they should buy it in cash. First of all these people (the Lopezes) are insane and are crooks. They do not want to help the Filipino people nor make the life of the population easier. They want the Filipino to suffer. I call them insane because of the steep price they implement. They know the people have no choice because they do not have any competition. Our politicians in between the senate and congress helps protect this practice maybe because of the contribution to their individual pockets. The present government will not do anything nor the previous ones as they are all tied up to it. The government’s duty is to find alternative power supply and there are international companies willing to bid for this especially Germany, Japan and South Korea. These countries can supply us with clean energy that even can generate small businesses for locals. Marcos was right in turning some public utility companies into government controlled as it can help in paying the dues for the people. Free enterprise is good but Meralco has gone too far. Recently it even raised its price PHP 4 per kilowatt/hour. The residents of Metro manila which are already burdened by different fees will be punished more by this additional hike. The government should start looking for power alternatives and companies. Clean Energy ! Until our politicians, government will help us Meralco will keep shooting us in the dark. This entry was posted in Aksyon Opinion. Bookmark the permalink. Drama For The Sake Of Drama
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 15:08:19 +0000
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