DoE graft, incompetence behind power crisis — Erap

Former President Joseph Estrada, the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard bearer, yesterday expressed sheer frustration over the current power crisis the country is being hit with, what with daily two-hour brownouts being experienced in Metro Manila and, worse, with longer brownouts in Mindanao and the Visayas.

“As far back as two years ago, at the height of the rice crisis, ana-lysts were already saying that the country will be facing an energy crisis in 2010. Why did the government sleep on this, when the energy crisis was imminent?” Estrada said.

The former president attributed the crisis to the leadership of the current government.

“The problem with this present government is that it does not appoint men and women of competence. A President must appoint men of unquestionable integrity and competence. The best example of this administration failing to appoint someone competent and with unquestionable integrity can be found in the field of energy.

“This administration appointed appointed Angelo Reyes, (a former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who served during the Estrada administration and proved himself a traitor to the Constitution as he and his senior military officials staged a mutiny against their commander in chief Estrada in January 2001, withdrawing their support from him and giving this to the vice president). What does he know about energy?” Estrada said.

Estrada told reporters during his sortie yesterday in Pasay City that solutions to matters of such magnitude, such as the energy problem cannot be rushed.

“In the field of energy we need long-term solutions. The solutions cannot be rushed,” Estrada said.

Vowing that he will be making the energy crisis is priority once he returns to Malacañang, Estrada said he will call a meeting with the bext minds in the field of energy immediately.

“I will call a meeting for the best minds in the field of energy to come together at the beginning of my term so that by the end of my term the Philippines can be the leading country in Asia especially in the field of alternative energy,” Estrada vowed.

Estrada has included solving the energy crisis as part of his platform. (see www.erap.ph). He said he will reimpose his policy of not allowing sovereign or government guarantees, as this is a great source of corruption.

It will be recalled that just two days in official residence after the Edsa ll coup d’etat that installed then Vice President Gloria Arroyo to Malacañang, she and her justice secretary approved the Impsa Independent Power Producers’ contract with a sovereign guarantee, which was earlier rejected by Estrada.

As reports had it then, in exchange of the sovereign guarantee, a $14 million bribe was taken from Impsa and its brokers.

Estrada also stressed that his administration will work toward making the Philippines the center for geothermal energy in Asia by creating an investment strategy to induce foreign direct investors to build “green factories”in the Philippines. The objective will be to generate impressive investments in geothermal power and utilize the fact that the Philippines has one of the highest geothermal power capacities in the world today.

Holding a sortie in Pasay City, Estrada also yesterday predicted that his mayoralty candidate, Connie Dy, will beat incumbent Mayor Peewee Trinidad in the 2010 mayoralty race.

The former president went on a motorcade around Pasay with Vice Presidential candidate Mayor Jejomar Binay and the senatorial slate of the PMP, including Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Joey de Venecia, Jun Lozada, JV Bautista and Kit Tatad.

Estrada campaign manager Ambassador Ernesto Maceda said this was simply because Dy has been conducting a more aggressive campaign.

“I have been told that as per the latest survey, Connie Dy has already overtaken (Mayor) Peewee Trinidad by four points. With Erap endorsing her, she is sure to get the opposition votes in Pasay and win,” Maceda said, adding that the talk that Sen. Manny Villar is the secret candidate of President Arroyo will also have an impact. –Daily Tribune