Salcon
group, the majority stockholder of Bohol Light and Bohol Water Utilities Inc.,
is asking for a proposal regarding the provincial government's plan to re-acquire
70 percent of its joint-venture holdings in the power and water utility companies.
The
provincial government's four sitting members of the two utilities board confirmed
that the Singaporean-financed utility company, through its Chairman Lim Chan Lok,
formally requested an offer for the buy-out of its shares in the joint-venture
agreement amid reports that Salcon, a major player in the country's power industry,
is sustaining losses in both semi-privatized companies.
A
former Capitol official who refused to be identified, told the Chronicle that
another reason why Salcon is entertaining possibilities of selling its shares
is the seemingly hostile treatment of provincial government officials every time
local elections are about to be held when the buy-back issue is revived.
It
may be recalled that in December 2000, the provincial government entered into
a joint-venture agreement with Salcon, through a Rehabilitate, Own, Operate and
Maintain scheme, a variant of the Build-Operate-Transfer projects commonly used
by the government.
| | | Although
the joint-venture was hailed by the finance department and private sector groups
as an example of 'best practices' among local government units, the project became
a leverage being exploited by politicians every election season which poses an
obstacle to the private investor.
Former
governor David Tirol, one of the province's representative in the Bohol Light
board, told the Chronicle yesterday that during a board meeting last September,
Atty. Victor dela Serna, another board representative of the province, manifested
to the Salcon board the plan of the provincial government to buy out their company's
shares.
This
was the instruction of Gov. Erico Aumentado himself, according to Tirol. |
In
a separate interview with the Chronicle, Dela Serna said after the board meeting,
he immediately conferred with the governor who asked him to prepare a letter addressed
to the joint-venture stockholders specifying the offer of the provincial government.
Dela
Serna then suggested to the governor and City Mayor Dan Lim that the city government
acquire 30 percent of the 70-percent holdings of Salcon in both utility companies,
since most of its consumers are city-based. The remaining 40 percent will be purchased
by the provincial government.
Lim,
accordingly, agreed to the proposal, Dela Serna bared.
For
the past two succeeding years, Bohol Water reported losses of P1 million to P2
million, according to Dela Serna. On the other hand, Bohol Light has not reported
an income since its takeover in 2000.
This
has deprived the provincial government of dividends from its 30-percent capital,
according to Dela Serna.
The
former OIC governor clarified that a closer scrutiny of Bohol Light's financial
statements would reveal overstatement of expenses such as professional retainers
fees, representation allowances of company officials and other expenditures.
Both
utility firms, according to Dela Serna, have an earning capacity of more or less
P60 million a year.
He
said the provincial government should not hesitate to re-acquire the Salcon shares
despite the reported losses as both companies "can be utilized as money-making
ventures."
"They
[Salcon] did not come here all the way from Singapore to lose money in the name
of serving the Boholanos," Dela Serna stressed.
Under
the buy-back scheme, as proposed by Dela Serna, the present management structure
of both Bohol Water and Bohol Light will be retained.
Revenues
from each of the two utility firms will be separately accounted for and should
be treated as separate business enterprises apart from government operations. | 
