Sunday, August 30, 2020

Gatchalian: Meralco may also lose franchise. Inquirer Newsletter. August 31, 2020

NATIONAL HEROES DAY Gelo Verano wears a face mask with images of national heroes Dr. Jose Rizal and founder of Katipunan Andres Bonifacio being sold at Street Styles Originals in Tondo, Manila for P 200. According to store owner Jeff Verano, he wanted to encourage people to wear face masks during this pandemic that he came up with the concept of national heroes that will also raise historical and cultural awareness. The cloth face mask is designed by Gerilya, a Manila-based street art and graffiti collective composed of graduates of the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Fine Arts. The country will celebrate National Heroes Day today. INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

News

Lawmaker: Deal on House leadership won’t delay budget

Is there a looming showdown between rival factions in the House of Representatives as lawmakers scramble to pass the P4.5-trillion budget for 2021 by November? The question arose on Sunday as Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano expressed his intent to have the spending bill approved “in record time”. —STORY BY DJ Yap

World

India sets record 78,000 daily COVID-19 infections

Global coronavirus cases surged past 25 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, as India marked a worldwide record for daily new cases in the COVID-19 pandemic. The data showed steady global growth as the disease’s epicenter shifts again. —STORY BY REUTERS

Board Talk

Can COVID-19 give new wind to renewable energy?

(First of two parts) Kicking the fossil-fuel habit completely was hard for AC Energy, the energy arm of Philippine industry giant Ayala Corp., to do overnight even if it had been investing in renewable energy (RE) in Southeast Asia for nearly a decade. —STORY BY Mariejo S. Ramos

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Gatchalian: Meralco may also lose franchise.

By Marlon Ramos

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) could suffer the fate of ABS-CBN for its refusal to readily comply with the orders of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Sunday.

The decadeslong dominance of ABS-CBN ended after the House committee on legislative franchises rejected in July its application for a new 25-year legislative franchise on the grounds that it violated the constitutional ban on foreign ownership of mass media, among other reasons.

The Lopez-owned media conglomerate had been hoping to get a new license to resume its business and continue paying its 11,000 employees. On May 5, a day after its franchise expired, it was forced to shut down its radio and TV operations.

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate energy committee, warned that Congress could exercise its oversight function to revoke Meralco’s franchise after it said it would appeal the P19-million fine that the ERC had imposed on the company for failing to clearly explain to customers the spike in their monthly bills.

Meralco, the country’s biggest power utility, had billed customers based on average consumption from December to February because meter reading could not be done in March and April due to the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon that was aimed at preventing the spread of the new coronavirus. —WITH A REPORT FROM RONNEL W. DOMINGO INQ

Editorial

Revolutionaries and other heroes

In the formulation of the National Heroes Committee organized in the 1990s during President Fidel V. Ramos’ term, heroes are those who define and contribute to the freedom, order, quality of life, and destiny of the nation. Per the Official Gazette, the 'lack of specifics' in the commemoration of National Heroes Day 'offers an opportunity to celebrate the bravery of, not one, not a few, but all Filipino heroes.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net