STATE-OWNED firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) thumbed down the idea of a heritage conservation group to turn its properties in Paco into an open space and a public park.
In a letter to Ivan Anthony Henares, president of The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) Philippines dated August 24, 2021, Psalm president and CEO Irene Joy Besido-Garcia said the eight lots the government firm owns in Isla de Provisor “are not contiguous to one another,” with private properties interspersed, and accessible by a narrow road with informal settlers along it.
“It is also important to let you know that there exists high voltage structures and transmission lines right in the middle of the Isla de Provisor area and they are situated on the property owned by Meralco…. Obviously, the presence of this very critical power installation makes the place not ideal for a public park or for any land usage that will make the location densely populated,” added the PSALM official.
As such, the substation needs to be fully secure against possible sabotage, which could interrupt the power supply to Meralco’s clients which include the Malacañan Palace, the Department of Finance, Bureau of Customs, Philippine General Hospital, and the United States Embassy. “Constructing a public park right beside a very critical substation could pose serious national security risks,” underscored Besido-Garcia.
Asset was offered to Isko
Lastly, she pointed out that PSALM did offer its Isla de Provisor properties for sale to Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso. “We thought that the local government might have some public purpose or use for it. In Psalm’s letter dated 4 September 2019, and received by the Office of the Mayor on 6 September 2019, Psalm provided the details of the property and invited the city government to a meeting to discuss it further. Unfortunately, Psalm did not receive any response from the Officer of the Mayor. Perhaps the City of Manila did not see the need to acquire and develop it.”
In its position paper, TICCIH urged Moreno to use Psalm’s properties in Isla de Provisor as part of a larger Central Park in Manila. (See, “Heritage advocates push for open space at state-owned Paco property,” in the BusinessMirror, August 24, 2021.)
PSALM, however, has tried to sell said properties thrice before in a bid to pare down the National Power Corp.’s (NPC) remaining financial obligations in keeping with Republic Act 9136 (Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001). NPC’s remaining obligations amounted to P367.89 billion as of June 30.
“If we do not pay the NPC financial obligations now, we will all suffer the effects of more expensive electricity in the coming years, which could in turn hamper our country’s economic progress,” said Besido-Garcia.
The PSALM official invited TICCIH to bid on the eight lots at Isla de Provisor, currently offered at a minimum of P527.09 million. She added they plan to move the deadline for the submission of bids “by at least two weeks because of the quarantine restrictions that prevented the conduct of due diligence by interested bidders.” The deadline was originally set for August 31.
The properties used to be the site of the decommissioned Manila Thermal Power Plant, which has since been sold.
