TARLAC CITY — Militant groups, backed by local political leaders in the province, have successfully launched on Saturday here a broad power consumers alliance that calls for the total scrapping of the controversial purchased power adjustment (PPA), as well as the junking of onerous contracts with so-called independent power producers (IPPs).

Called People Opposed to Warrantless Electricity Rates in Tarlac (POWER in Tarlac), the coalition’s launching was also highlighted by a march-rally and noise barrages in the city proper.

Aside from radical activists led by certified public accountant Eliseo Cadiang, chair of the radical Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Tarlac), in attendance, too, during POWER in Tarlac’s launching were elected municipal officials from the towns of Moncada, San Jose, Sta. Ignacia and Mayantoc, as well as village officials from this city.

At least two city officials here, namely city councilors Abel Ladera and Frank Dayao, also attended the coalition’s establishment.

Ladera said that Vice Mayor Miguel Tañedo and his other colleagues in the so-called "serve the people" bloc in the city council should have had also joined the alliance’s launching, but they had to attend to a budget hearing called for by Mayor Genaro Mendoza with City Hall department heads held at Subic.

Frank Mangulabnan, regional spokesperson for Central Luzon of POWER, explained how the controversial IPP contracts, which he said were pursued even during the martial law era, resulted to the anomalous charging of the PPA and the power cost adjustment (PCA) on electricity consumers.

He insisted that the IPP contracts, as well as the PPA/PCA, were dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, supposedly as "cures" for the country’s power industry.

After the participants signed a petition calling for the scrapping of the PPA and the IPP contracts, as well as a huge streamer calling for the same, they marched from the San Isidro Farmhouse to the Romulo Boulevard in front of the Magic Star Mall.

A short program and a 5-minute noise barrage was held in front of the mall. Then the rallyists proceeded to the F. Tañedo Street. Upon reaching the vicinity of the old public market, another 5-minute noise barrage was held by the protesters.

Chanting anti-PPA, as well as anti-government slogans, the marchers concluded POWER in Tarlac’s launching near the Philippine National Bank’s poblacion branch along the F. Tañedo Street.

GMA CHIDED

During POWER in Tarlac’s launching, as well as during the rally-noise barrage, the coalition’s leaders took turns in rebuking President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for taking "self-serving and selfish credit" for the reduction of the monthly PPA.

Mangulabnan said that Mrs. Arroyo "does not have any right to take sole credit for the reduction of the PPA."

Through the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Malacañang came out with a television advertisement showing a poor family of having been able to buy an electric fan due to the lowered electricity rates. The President was then shown as saying that it was one of her administration’s programs to reduce the PPA.

"For her information, had not it been for the series of demonstrations launched against the PPA, Macapagal-Arroyo would continue tolerating this anti-people policy in the power industry sector," he said.

According to him, "It was the people who pushed Malacañang to reduce the PPA, it was not Macapagal-Arroyo."

Mangulabnan added that, "in fact, the President even then first defended the demand of Meralco (Manila Electric Co.) to increase power rates."

Besides, he said that "the people are not clamoring for the PPA’s reduction. We want this scrapped, along with the anti-people IPP contracts, because, in the first place, why should the people pay for electricity they have not consumed?"

Under contracts of power service providers with IPPs, the former are required to pay the latter for the fixed electricity bought, even if these were not all consumed.

Mangulabnan said that payments by power service providers for unconsumed electricity are being passed on consumers through the PPA. — Abner Bolos, Sablee Bulaon, Rachelle Tayong and Che-Che Pangilinan