President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. has expressed support for Senator Raffy Tulfo on his proposal to probe several issues hounding the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Malacañang announced Wednesday.

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Tulfo personally visited Marcos Marcos last Monday to discuss his concern regarding NGCP's inadequate performance which he said poses serious national threats.

“The President agreed with the Senator's proposal to conduct a comprehensive study or hold hearings to determine the actual situation. If necessary, the government will take back control of the entity,” PCO said.

Tulfo earlier filed Senate Resolution No. 609 urging the Senate to investigate the country’s energy grid systems operator.

In the resolution, he cited that “all the instructions posted in NGCP plants about operations of sensitive equipment, including manuals, are written in Chinese characters" and "that no Filipino technician knows how to operate this."

NGCP is 60% owned by the Philippines and 40% owned by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).

“While Chinese shareholders only own 40% of NGCP, under the shareholders’ agreement they have the power to veto or junk the board resolution of majority shareholders. In short, Chinese shareholders can do everything they want to do in running the NGCP. This is the reason our energy situation is problematic," Tulfo pointed out.

Meanwhile, Senator Chiz Escudero expressed his objection regarding the proposal that the national government buys back the 40% shares acquired by Chinese investors.

He said that the acquisition should be done until issues are thoroughly investigated.

Escudero reminded that “(we’ve) been there, done that.. and the Napocor and the NGCP, at the time, racked up hundreds of billions of debts, which we are paying up to now.”

The NGCP started operations as a power transmission service provider in 2009 under a congressionally granted 50-year franchise.

Under Section 3 of Republic Act 9511, the NGCP is mandated to operate and maintain the transmission system, grid, and related facilities at all times under industry standards.

Written By Ailah Francisco, DZRH News Online Intern