The Chinese government on Thursday expressed cooperation with an impending investigation by the Philippine Senate on the issue of ownership of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
Wang Wenbin, spokesman of China’s Foreign Ministry, said they back the Chinese companies “in carrying out practical cooperation in the Philippines in accordance with laws and regulations and producing greater mutual benefits.”
“The Philippines is a friendly neighbor and important partner of China,” Wang said, in his regular press briefing on Wednesday night.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has given Sen. Raffy Tulfo the green light to look into the real situation of the country’s energy grid systems operator, particularly on the question of ownership to determine if the utility is controlled by Chinese.
Tulfo, chairman the Senate Committee on Energy, filed Resolution No. 609 calling for an inquiry on the NGCP because of possible security concerns as it is 40-percent owned by the State Grid Corporation of China.
The President has also said the government might reclaim control of N
Malacañang said earlier that the Philippine government might take back control of the NGCP if it was proven that there were national security concerns and if the company was ineffective in fulfilling its mandate.
The Palace issued the statement after Tulfo met with the President to express his intention to look into the NGCP.
“Firstly, Senator Tulfo expressed his desire to assess the performance of the NGCP, which has also raised concerns among several other senators. Secondly, Senator Tulfo aimed to examine the security aspect, particularly on who truly controls the corporation,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.
“The President agreed with the senator’s proposal to conduct a comprehensive study or hold hearings to determine the actual situation. If necessary, the government will take back control of the entity,” it added.
Forty percent of NGCP is owned by the State Grid Corporation of China, while the remaining 60 percent is Filipino-owned. Tulfo said the Chinese ownership “poses a serious national security threat,” considering the conflict over the West Philippine Sea.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito also expressed concerns over the State Grid Corp.’s stake in the NGCP.
Senators Grace Poe and Sherwin Gatchalian also said the panel was open to revisit the NGCP franchise in view of the recurring power outages.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier renewed her call for the government to regain control of the NGCP.
At a hearing in the Senate, NGCP assistant corporate secretary, Ronald Dylan Concepcion argued however that China’s 40 percent stake in the company did not represent a national security risk as the transmission facilities were run by Filipinos.
But Tulfo and Hontiveros countered that vital information or intelligence could be passed on to Beijing, which has been hostile to the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea dispute,
Tulfo reiterated the need to return NGCP’s ownership to the Philippine government, specifically to the National Transmission Corporation, and not to China’s state grid and private firms.
Concepcion said there were no Chinese among the NGCP employees, and that only three board members are Chinese.
“The only Chinese that are in the country that are connected to NGCP are three and these are the members of the board. They sit on the board, and they represent the shareholdings of the State Grid Corporation of China,” he said.
Concepcion also debunked reports China could remotely control NGCP’s facilities. He said former National Security Council chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. had already inspected their facilities in 2019 or 2020 to verify this claim.
Responding to a query about why the manuals and instructions for the NGCP equipment in their substations were written in Chinese, Concepcion said the equipment was acquired from a Chinese provider.
“The instructions to that system were in Chinese originally but also they have English translation because of course our Filipino engineers have to go through training for that,” Concepcion said.
Tulfo then asked Concepcion to “get rid of these Chinese characters” because it is insulting. Concepcion said they would comply.
Poe pointed out that Republic Act No. 9511 grants NGCP a franchise with the commitment to support the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system in the Philippines.
“The weight of its responsibility is heaviest being the sole operator,” she said, adding that a franchise is a privilege especially if it involves a natural monopoly given to a sole company.
“I would just like to remind you… we may amend, we may alter and we may repeal your franchise if it is for the common good,” Poe added.
Poe said the authorities should have acted quickly to remedy the situation to spare the people in Occidental Mindoro from blackouts.
Poe said there is a need to determine the cause of the grid disturbances in Panay Island and determine who should be held responsible — NGCP or local distribution utility Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO).
She took note of the drawn-out audit of the Energy Regulatory Commission on NGCP, which began in 2019 and is still being evaluated by the commission.