TransCo wants inventory of ROW acquisitions for transmission projects
By Myrna M. Velasco – February 16, 2017, 10:01 PM
from Manila Bulletin
Facility owner National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) is requiring concessionaire National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to submit inventory of all right-of-way (ROW) acquisitions linked to implementation of all transmission projects.
“To start the documentation process for the transfer of the title, we request NGCP to provide us with a complete list/inventory of properties acquired in the name of NGCP, along with copies of land titles and right-of-way (ROW) grants, on a per project basis,” TransCo and privatization firm Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) have stipulated in a letter to NGCP President Henry T. Sy Jr.
Such directive was also re-stated by TransCo President Melvin A. Matibag, in the company’s bid to ensure that these acquired properties are properly titled under the name of the state-owned firm — in keeping with the provisions of Section 5.01 of their Concession Agreement.
He stressed that while the “power of eminent domain” had been re-assigned to NGCP under its franchise, the titles of the properties acquired for transmission projects must still be with the government through TransCo.
In future expropriation proceedings, Matibag indicated that TransCo may also file motions for intervention as may be warranted in specific cases.
Circling back to the TransCo-PSALM letter to NGCP, the government insisted that in properties’ acquisition resulting from expropriation cases, “TransCo shall retain title to all easements, right-of-way or other real estate interest, including documented property rights acquired by the Concessionaire.”
The state-run firms added “the transfer of title to properties to TransCo should commence upon unitization of a project,” and such “should be observed by NGCP religiously.”
They stressed that “while we acknowledge the privilege granted by the Franchise Law to NGCP to acquire properties in its name invoking the power of eminent domain, titles to the properties should immediately be transferred to TransCo.”
NGCP is also required to “bear all costs/ expenses incurred pertaining to the transfer of titles in the name of TransCo.”
