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It must have been the sun plus his nature of blaming whatever
problems his administration encounters to Gloria, his scapegoat, that
had triggered Noynoy’s flight to absurdity.
It has been close to
three years of his administration and he still incessantly blames Gloria
on almost anything that hits him, maybe the sizzling heat the past few
days included.
The Mindanao power crisis happened during his term.
Noynoy was saying that Gloria did not care enough to put up power plants
in anticipation of growth in the region.
He said to himself that it
takes three years to put up a power plant, which is a span that fits
within his administration. Noynoy was talking as if he took over from
Gloria yesterday.
It was clear during discussions on the power
situation in Mindanao that the crisis was largely the result of the
failure to realize what was spelled out in the Electric Power Industry
Reform Act (Epira), primarily the privatization thrust on the power
sector.
There were certain levels of the power network that should be
in the hands of private business before actual free market sets in or
competition that would allow low-cost but steady supply of electricity.
That
would have required contracting new projects or the sale of existing
power plants in the hands of the government, which is the National Power
Corp. (Napocor), to private firms.
The basic question to be asked
is: How many power plants under Noynoy have been sold to the private
sector and did any investor with foreign capital come into the power
sector for the past three years?
Foreign capital is crucial because
of the huge investments required for power projects and the long waiting
period before power plants start making revenues.
Two facts that
would point to Noynoy being the culprit of the Mindanao power crisis are
the failure of his flagship private-public partnership (PPP) program
and the foreign investment tally last year of a negligible $1.5 billion.
These
point to policy deficiencies in his administration, the reason for
investors to avoid the country despite the so-called improved climate
that Noynoy has been peddling.
The fact that only two groups, the
Alcantaras and the Aboitizes, who are long-time associates of the
Aquinos, are cornering power projects in Mindanao may also be the reason
for the snail-paced build up of available electricity supply in the
region.
The Aboitizes are also major suppliers of generator sets that
raise questions on the scheme that Noynoy had introduced to use
government funds through loans for electric cooperatives to acquire
diesel generator sets as a stop gap measure for the Mindanao power
problem.
Noynoy told the crowd that he inherited the problem from Gloria whom he called thick-skinned for neglecting Mindanao.
Subliminally
it seems, Noynoy is describing himself. His thick political skin is
making him oblivious to blame and everything wrong that happens in his
administration is the fault of his predecessor.
Had Gloria put up the
power plants under contracts during her term? It would surely still be
an evil deed of Gloria. Noynoy would have been all over the contracts
and would have had it reviewed and rebid for awarding to his own
cronies.
The vindictiveness within Noynoy may have reached a point to warp time and reality for him.
Somebody should shake up Noynoy and tell him that he has been using the blame Gloria line for the past three years.
Three full years of buck passing is autistic.
