Privatization

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Sen. Franklin Drilon on Tuesday sought for the conversion of national government hospitals into government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) saying it will improve the delivery of health services throughout the country.

PALAYAN CITY—Government and farmers groups have rejected the proposed privatization of irrigation services. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said such move would impair food security.

STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) said it welcomes inquiries into the privatization of National Power Corp.’s plants, which critics claimed has failed to bring down the country’s electricity rates.

MANILA, Philippines – Employees of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) yesterday staged a silent protest against the proposal of Sen. Franklin Drilon to privatize the agency.

THE Aquino administration fell short of its target proceeds from its asset sale program in 2010.

MANILA, Philippines –  Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima bared yesterday that the administration of President Aquino is contemplating on privatizing the headquarters of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Quezon City to further pump prime the economy.

“Diven the many issues that are basic to the well-being of the Filipino people such as electricity, water, public transport and toll ways that are not being dealt with by most columnists of mainstream media, I have made it a point to focus on them through this space. But whenever I see issues covered extensively…

MANILA, Philippines—State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) said it would resume before the end of the year the process of selling the remaining government-owned power plants and contracted capacities.

The government has raised a little more than a quarter of its revenue target from the sale of assets this year. According to Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary John Philip Sevilla, the agency already raised P500 million to P600 million from the disposal of “small” properties.

Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. has started preparations to sell the real estate properties of National Power Corp. and other non-power holdings after deferring this year the sale of its remaining power assets.

MANILA, Philippines — The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) paid $2.1 million (approximately P98.7 million) for its $300-million “Principal-Only-Swap (POS) transaction with the bankrupt Lehman Brothers Corp., Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone on Monday bared.

President Benigno Aquino 3rd on Monday said that the proposed sale of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) was “very interesting” but he wanted to study the proposal first since there are allegations of corruption against the government agency. President Aquino described as interesting the $10-billion offer from Ramon Ang, San Miguel Corp. vice…

MANILA, Philippines—Employees of the television network Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC-13) have asked the government to quickly replace the sequestered company’s board members, who have allegedly been emptying the company’s coffers.

From time to time, often in the teeth of whatever crisis is gripping the country, we hear proposals for government to buy back certain companies or even entire industries, supposedly to ensure the welfare of the public. This knee-jerk reaction to re-nationalize is premised on an oft-mistaken belief that things were a lot better when…

Almost half of the P470.9 billion stranded costs of the cash-strapped National Power Corp. (Napocor) are allegedly fat bonuses, overtime pay and hefty consultancy fees of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm), which are all passed on to consumers by way of higher electricity bills.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Ralph Recto said the Aquino administration should proceed with caution on its plan to privatize operations of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to raise revenues and possibly stem the implementation of new taxes.

IN line with the Aquino administration’s thrust to involve the private sector in various infrastructure projects so as to limit government spending, Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus said on Friday night his agency will privatize the operation and management of various projects under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

MANILA, Philippines – The government will privatize the operation and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA 3) once all the legal obstacles to its full operation have been resolved, according to Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose de Jesus.

The Department of Finance (DoF) said that it is abandoning its predecessor’s privatization strategy by favoring long-term lease on prime real assets over outright sale.

In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, President Benigno Aquino 3rd laid down his plan to engage in more public-private partnerships to build roads and bridges, enhance our Navy, build agricultural facilities and fund his plans for reforms in education, health and other social services. His panacea seems to be hinged upon…

Mainstream media have followed up PeNoy Aquino’s announce-ment of his Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) privatization plan with massive propaganda. Their argument is that since any game of chance is immoral and unproductive, and since Pagcor, the largest gambling operation run by government, is riddled with corruption, that state-owned enterprise needs to be privatized.…

MANILA, Philippines – The National Government has raised $10.6 billion from the privatization of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) assets and contracts.

Can an employee be dismissed for offenses committed during her employment in a government owned or controlled corporation which were subsequently discovered by same corporation after it was privatized and after it rehired her? This is one of the questions answered in this case of Lucy.

THE Philippines’ efforts to raise money from the sale of state assets face headwinds amid a dour external environment and the threat of a legal challenge to one of its privatization ventures.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is unlikely to meet its target to raise at least P10 billion from the privatization of state-owned assets by the end of June given new setbacks it is facing in its bid to sell its stake in PNOC-Exploration Corp.

MANILA, Philippines – The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the government entity tasked to handle the privatization of National Power Corp. assets, said there is nothing illegal with the sale of the Angat hydroelectric power plant.

MANILA, Philippines – North Harbor operator Manila North Harbour Port Inc. (MNHPI) has advanced payments of more than P100 million to port and transport workers for their past services as part of its commitment to comply with the terms of its contract with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

E. Forewarnings when undertaking a privatization program Virtually all proponents of privatization have issued caveats when discussing and evaluating the benefits of privatization, which statements are backed up by empirical evidence over the past 20 or so years. The extensive pursuit of privatization programs alone will not consistently add to a government’s fiscal position nor…

MANILA, Philippines- Striking workers of a major harbor North of Manila blamed officials of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) for the fiasco in the takeover of the North Harbour, the premier capital’s most busy seaport.