Unnecessary powers?

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

While Malacañang is taking the time to assure the public that if President Arroyo does decide to exercise emergency powers to address the power and water crisis, she would only have national interest in mind, lawmakers are saying that there is no need for Congress to grant her such powers because existing laws already give her enough  to deal with such contingencies.

Sen. Joker Arroyo pointed out in an interview that the Constitution and the franchises of business grant the President powers to temporarily take over power companies and direct their operations “in times of national emergency when the public interest so requires.”  In a separate interview, Sen. Edgardo Angara says that while there is an urgent need to solve the ongoing power crisis, particularly with the coming elections, existing laws are sufficient to respond to the crisis.  Speaker Prosper Nograles suggests that the President can just declare a state of calamity and authorize the use of the P12 billion calamity fund to solve the crisis. He admits that the executive branch already has sufficient powers under our energy laws to address and take concrete actions.

Everybody knows that the government will have its hands full with a power and water crisis that is already apparent at such early stage of this year’s dry season.  Most will also agree that the scale of these problems could have been avoided had the government agencies responsible been more proactive instead of simply being reactive, and that emergency powers cannot do much given such a short amount of time to work with unless those powers include the magical ability to conjure rain clouds and power generation plants from thin air.

The situation may be serious enough for those who do not have any imagination to resort to knee-jerk reactions and call for the use of emergency powers. The members of Congress, which has the power to grant those powers, must be always be prudent in determining if those extra powers will indeed be necessary in solving the problem.*