MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Carlos Zarate of party-list group Bayan Muna urged President Duterte yesterday to include electricity supply agreements in the review of private sector contracts that affect public interest. He called for the review of power supply agreements in the wake of the red and yellow electricity shortage alerts that meant rotating blackouts in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon last week and this week. Zarate said the red and yellow alerts could mean an increase in the cost of electricity in the months ahead as distributors had to augment supply by buying costlier power in the open market. He said the President should not also allow power producers to pass on to the public interest on loans they obtained to build their plants. “In effect, there was a crime but the criminal was not penalized and he could do it again,” he said.

Source: Philippine Star April 16, 2019 16:01 UTC