Debate Speech

Honorable judges, worth opponents, ladies and gentlemen, good

morning. As the third speaker of the affirmative side, we strongly agree to the said
proposition. In revoking the franchise of NGCP, its performance and reliability in
maintaining and improving the national power grid have been a matter of concern. On
the line on today’s debate is Article 12 Section 11 of the 1987 constitution which
provides neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except under the condition
that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by the congress when the
common good requires. It was clearly stated that the franchise can be reform in
Republic Act No. 9511 Section. 2.

Then why should the franchise of NGCP be revoked? The NGCP has
already violated the constitution for allowing the Chinese to hold high positions. It’s very
clear in the constitution that all executive and managing officers of such corporation or
association must be citizens of the Philippines, yet a Chinese national holds the second
highest position, which is chief technical officer. I'm a Filipino and proud to be one, you
should be too. Are we just going to keep blind or deaf to this situation? According to the
trust worthy data the net income of NGCP in 2019 are ₱20.3 Billion while the dividends
were ₱ 15 Billion. In fact, 95% of the income of NGCP is put into dividends, with only
5% going for expansion and development. Hence, the dividends are much bigger than
the income.

On October 2022, the energy regulatory commission (ERC) slapped a

P5.1 million fine on NGCP for violating the Department of Energy (DOE) circular on
contracting ancillary services or reserves through competitive bidding. It also directed
NGCP to submit within 30 days from receipt of its order the terms of reference (TOR)
and Invitation to bid (ITB) to the DOE and “comply with the rest of its obligations under
the said policy.” If NGCP fails to comply with the directive within the period, the ERC
said it would be compelled to impose additional penalties. The ERC may also impose a
maximum penalty of P50 million for each violation of the circular, as provided under the
Electric Power Industry Reform Act. This proves that the NGCP has a lot of violations
and lapses.
 It would be feasible when the franchise is revoked and the
government take over the national power grid. By revoking the franchise it can provide
an opportunity to reevaluate the company’s effectiveness in the meeting the energy
demands of the country. Initially, revoking the franchise of NGCP can serve as a
measure to enforce greater accountability and transparency in the operations of the
national power grid. By reassessing the role and structure of the organization, the
government can ensure that the grid’s management is more responsive to public
interest. In line with that, it could allow for a shift towards public ownership and control
of the power grid. This would give the government a more direct role in overseeing the
infrastructure and ensure that the energy needs of the citizen are adequately met.
Moreover, this can lead to the development of more robust regulations and enhanced
oversight mechanisms. Strengthened regulation would help prevent potential abuses of
power and ensure that the interest of consumers and the public are adequately
protected.

Therefore, it is practicable to revoked the franchise. When we speak of

revoking the franchise the constitution cannot be any clearer if the state may only do so
with a corporation, or a domestic corporation at that at least 60% of which is owned by
Filipino citizens clearly not a foreign-owned corporation or worse not a foreign state as
that of china. Thank you for your time and indulgence. I have proven my point and I rest
my case. I’m now ready for the interpellation.