The banes: debt trap, profit motive

INFOWARS
Herman Tiu Laurel
5/30/2008



The Meralco stockholders meeting highlighted the acrimonious divide between the pro-Lopez stockholders and mobs and the pro-Winston Garcia group. Who represented consumers there? None among the two groups is pro-consumer and for really lower rates. The issue of getting the fair, Asean average price for electricity for every Filipino was drowned out by the fight between the Lopezes and Garcia. We know of course Garcia claims to be fighting to lower Meralco electricity prices, but only idiots and fools would believe that. Garcia is in the Meralco fight as a proxy of other faction of the exploitative economic elite and the power mongering of the political usurpers in Malacañang – all for the profit motive.

Meralco stockholders gain no sympathy from this quarter. They too benefit from the exploitation committed by the Lopezes and Meralco. Some try to present shareholder corporate participation of this public utility company as economic democracy, nothing is farther from the truth. Shareholders of privatized public utilities are in the same category as the controlling stockholders, profit seekers gouging the consumers. They are taking the free ride on the backs of power users’ monthly bill payments which capitalizes and finances the power company and its growth. These stockholders undermine the principle of public service in public utilities by their obsession for profit.

Meralco workers rooting for the Lopezes and booing Garcia reveal their self-serving motives. They are traitors to their class of millions of fellow workers who are reeling from the extortionist electricity rates. If the Meralco employees had the right perspective they should have joined the hundreds rallying outside the stockholders meeting hall, at the lobby and outside the Meralco building condemning both the Lopezes and Garcia. These groups, including the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) and EmPower Coalition are demanding popular and democratic ownership and control of the power distribution company by consumers. It is these groups that have been vindicated in the Meralco and Epira abuses they have exposed the past decade.

FDC, EmPower and this columnist have labored the past decade to expose the anomaly of privatizing power, particularly the abuses of the Lopezes and Meralco. If we take history further back to the late 60’s our groups have rallied against the Lopez abuse since the LAPVIIR days (which we have written of, i.e. the Lopez campaign fountain and our rallies against their ostentatious wealth display). The correct principle in this struggle is that public utilities such as electricity and water are natural monopolies, naturally funded from the public sector because of its huge financial requirement amortized by consumers’ payments. The public must be made aware of the absolute necessity of banning the profit motive in public utilities and the imperative of restoring them to public ownership.

We need to have a quick and permanent solution to the oppressive electricity prices, but at the rate Garcia’s motives are being suspected and the Lopezes’ legal obstructionism to change in the power sector, the public and the country’s suffering will go on without relief in sight. Whoever between the two wins, the people loses. This pointless struggle of the two avaricious factions of the power elite should awaken the Filipino middle class. They should join the long languishing masa in the brewing revolt against these power oligarch and Gloria’s corrupt system. The thinking elements among the military should reflect on these developments showing the greed of these oligarchs and the corrupt political regime, and how they aggravate the already desperate economic crisis.

The past few days Gloria Arroyo has grandstanded on a proposed allocation of two billion pesos from RVAT collections for dole outs to poor power consumers, jeepney and other public transport drivers, for tuition, etc. That’s the classic consuelo de bobo. The RVAT collections in 2006 was P 75-B, it is bigger now. Even just basing on the 2006 level the P 2-B dole out would not even constitute five percent of the entire RVAT collection. What the public should keep in mind is that 70% of the RVAT goes to debt service. The high prices of gasoline and other oil products are rooted in the onerous national debt. Even our tuition fees for our children’s education has RVAT tacked on to it, which is a real abomination if we value education as a basic right.

We reported the trial balloons from the DoF and secretary Teves regarding Gloria’s need for more revenues, but knowing how enraged the people are now about the RVAT the Arroyo government has made a feint and a sidestep. Gloria has announced that there will be no need for new taxes until her term officially ends in 2010 (as if she has any intention of leaving). On the same day as this news cam out the Margarito Teves announces that “ ‘Gov’t considering higher privatization earnings this year ‘ … including 40% stake in Petron and Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), 120-hectare Food Terminals Inc. (FTI), government’s real estate property in Fujimi, Japan; its stake in Meralco and Eastern Telecom Philippines Inc.”

We will ask Yuko, a Filipina in Japan and Gloria nemesis, to check the Fujimi property as there are prohibitions to selling Philippine government properties in Japan. The Petron shares are hugely profitable stocks, selling them would be a great loss to the public; and the government’s Meralco shares’ announced sale by the DoF raises the suspicion that it is depressing the value of those shares through the threat of government takeover to allow Gloria cronies to buy the shares very low. The day after the rowdy stockholder’s meeting Meralco shares have gone down by around 5%, a few more days and weeks of this and its value may just crash through the floor tiles – a great buy for anyone who gets insider information Gloria can provide.

It’s a pity that the no-nonsense senator who filed the bills to end the automatic debt appropriations and cap Malacañang’s debt contracting power is shackled in detention. Senator Trillanes filed those bills to limit the country’s debt problems and taxes stemming from it. The good news is that more testimonies, including that of journalist Alvin Elchico shows that there was no coup d’etat at Oakwood. They should let Trillanes out now to help fight the cause of the people in the Senate against debt and taxes. As soon as Trillanes gets out he will be among our first guests for our Tuesday, 8:45 to 9:30pm “Talk News TV” on Destiny Cable, GNN Channel 3. The maiden episode was quite interesting.

(Tune to “Kape’t Kamulatan, Kabansa” 1098AM, 8:30-9am, Monday to Friday)