An official of state-run Social Security System said the fund should collect P10 billion from the sale of its property to National Grid Corp. of the Philippines for the use of a substation and other power equipment.
Social Security System commissioner Jose Gabriel La Vina told reporters National Grid valued the SSS property in Pasay City at only P1.46 billion, lower than the zonal value of P10 billion.
“The Filipino people will lose P10 billion if that will push through. This is worse than plunder,” La Vina said.
National Grid wants to acquire 60,872 square meters of the 129,548 square-meter-lot along Diokno Ave. in Pasay City near the Film Center of the Philippines, Government Service Insurance System and SM Investment Properties.
National Grid said the regional trial court of Pasay already issued a writ of possession in the company’s favor, giving the system operator possession over the 6.5-hectare SSS property for the construction of a 230-kiloVolt substation.
“We want to emphasize that the Pasay substation is a critical project meant to be the long-term solution to meet the increase in demand for power in the nation’s capital, and effectively distribute the existing load of transmission facilities serving Meralco,” National Grid said.
The project includes a provision to connect the substation directly to a substation in Bataan via a high voltage submarine cable.