email: bg31650@yahoo.com

The buy back gambit

Stripped of any political undertone, the buy back issue of the twin public utilities (light and water) once owned and controlled by the provincial government, should be discussed with an open mind and open heart. Any emotional outburst for and against the issue is not good for a healthy discussion. Even if proponents of the buy back gambit are growing by the day, we still maintain our position that it is not the best option under the circumstance. Ever a sucker for a lost cause ,if at all, it is, we still believe that the Salcon consortium that manages the Bohol Light Company and the Bohol Water Utilities, Inc. is still the best there is in terms of efficient services and reasonable pricing. Never mind the observation that in truth and in fact, the two public utilities are making money, contrary to the claims of the present operators, that they are a losing venture. This explains why up to this time, the Salcon Group is yet to declare dividends to stockholders. But one thing is certain. If at all, the two utilities generate any income, the same was plowed back as investments to improve their viable operations. To bolster our position that we are against the buy back plan, let it all be known to all consumers that we don't think repossession of ownership of the two utilities is the answer, if ever we are having problems with their operations. As for the efficiency of water and power services courtesy of the twin utilities, there's no quarrel that there is a great improvement compared to their operations when they were under the direction of the provincial government. We don't have to go into details how efficiency works in the two systems under the Salcon Group because it has been repeated quite open in several publications in local newspapers many times before. As for rates paid by consumers, records will show that those pegged by the two utilities still came out cheaper compared to those charged by power firms and water districts in neighboring places. Our bottom line therefore in this raging issue is not the a buy back of the two utilities. Our position albeit like a voice in the wilderness is that “ no to buy back and yes to dismantling the monopoly”. It is no secret that operating the two utilities is a virtual monopoly on the part of the Salcon Group. And when they offered to buy the two systems six years ago, the Salcon Group ran into a tough opposition mounted by the unforgiving Association of Concerned Tagbilaranons (ACT) led by bar topnotcher lawyer Victor de la Serna. In the end, in a shrewed display of hard bargaining, the Salcon Group won the bid to monopolize the water and power service to the cheerful applause of majority of consumers. Now the consortium is facing a passionate attempt to repossess ownership of the two utilities. We don't think the foreign-based group will take it sitting down any fresh try to reacquire the systems even if they are losing money.. When it fought tooth and nail to acquire the monopoly six years ago, it was never its intention to turnover to its previous owner their ownership without putting up a fight. After all, Salcon is known to gobble up utilities up for grabs and never are they known of selling prized possessions it has acquired fair and square. In parting, our position to dismantle the monopoly instead of the buy back option is that we should allow all other players in the industry to strut their wares in the open and competitive market. This means that we should allow the Tagbilaran Waterworks System to penetrate the area controlled by Bohol Water and vice versa in the interest of fair play to all consumers. That way the consumers will have the option to choose between the two competing utilities in terms of cheaper rates and efficient and reliable service. The same is true with the power requirements of the Bohol Light franchise area. We should allow the entry of Boheco I in the service area controlled by Bohol Light and in the same token allow the Boheco area free from the incursion of the Salcon-owned companies. Don't you it is not to all consumers of both utilities in terms service efficiency and better pricing terms.