SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez is proposing for the newly-convened Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) to consider investing its resources on power grid operator, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
“Given these challenges, I propose that the Maharlika Investment Corporation considers investing in the NGCP. This strategic investment could provide essential capital for infrastructure upgrades and help in lowering the cost of electricity for consumers,” Speaker Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, said.
Speaker Romualdez was referring to the masive power outage that have affected Iloilo City and several provinces in Western Visayas since January 2, 2024.
“I believe that investing in the power sector will set up major benefits for the country,” Speaker Romualdez said.
Speaker Romualdez noted that Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has expressed strong concerns over the NGCP’s alleged inaction on repeated blackouts.
The House leader said the potential involvement of MIC “could lead to improved efficiency, economic growth, enhanced energy security, support for renewable energy integration, and increased accountability in NGCP’s operations”.
The MIC acts as the steward of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), the Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund. It is chaired by Sec. Benjamin Diokno.
The MIC Board met for the first time on January 3 to discuss matters such as the Fund’s capitalization and potential projects to tap.
Speaker Romualdez said that improving the country’s power infrastructure will result to cheaper electricity for the consumers, which in turn would make the country more attractive to foreign investors in terms of operational costs.
He further justified his pitch by saying that a strengthened NGCP would hasten the existing interconnectivity plans, thus ensuring that traditionally power-strapped regions during peak usage of electricity would be left in the dark at any given time.
“The involvement of the Maharlika Investment Corporation could be a significant step towards achieving a reliable, efficient, and sustainable energy infrastructure,” said Romualdez, the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) president.
At any rate, the House leader asked both the NGCP and Department of Energy (DoE) to implement “decisive action and effective collaboration” regarding the Western Visayas blackout.
