President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the franchise of a renewable energy distribution firm owned by the son of former senator and now House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda.
President Duterte signed on Wednesday Republic Act No. 11357 granting franchise to Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. despite opposition from major business groups.
The approved franchise would entail construction, installation, establishment, operation and maintenance of solar-powered facilities to provide renewable energy to areas without electricity.
Owned by 25-year-old Leandro Leviste, the firm “aims to serve Filipino communities with cheap, clean, reliable 24/7 electricity,” according to its website.
Some business groups, including Manila Electric Co., have previously urged Duterte to review the franchise.
“The grant of the franchise will create an undue competitive edge in favor of SPB Corp. and put at a disadvantage other renewable energy companies now operating in our country,” the business groups said last month in a statement.
The statement was issued by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc.
The groups argued that the franchise of the firm is different from the current practice that puts power companies on the wholesale electricity spot market, where the rates are set through daily trading.
However, the franchise approved by Duterte states that “the grantee shall charge reasonable and just power rates” as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission so other business and industries can compete with it.
The bill granting the firm a 25-year franchise was approved by the Senate last month, amid objections of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the head of the Senate’s energy committee.
It also hurdled the House in December 2018. Leviste’s mother, Legarda, abstained from voting.
Under the law, Congress has the power to grant franchises to companies providing public services such as water and electricity.
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