đź“·:Â Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) Hydroelectric Power Plant | CBKPOWER.COM
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate criticized the privatization of the 796.64 MW Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) Hydroelectric Power Plant, calling it a “sweetheart deal” between the Aboitiz-led Thunder Consortium and PSALM Corp.
He raised concerns over the consortium’s winning bid of only ₱36.266 billion, which he deemed “extremely low” for a major government asset with pumped storage and significantly higher capacity than the recently sold 165 MW Casecnan plant. Zarate noted that Casecnan fetched $526 million (₱30 billion), making the CBK sale price appear disproportionately cheap.
“It doesn’t add up. CBK is a strategic asset with almost 800 MW capacity and pumped storage, yet it was privatized for less than $1 billion. When you compare it to the Casecnan Hydro, which has less than a fifth of CBK’s capacity but fetched over half a billion dollars, the disparity is glaring and reeks of a sweetheart deal,” Zarate said in English.
“Halos limang beses ang kapasidad ng CBK kaysa Casecnan, pero parang barya lang ang binayad dito. Saan napunta ang tunay na halaga ng asset ng taumbayan? Dapat imbestigahan ito ng Kongreso at ng taumbayan mismo. Hindi dapat basta-basta na lang ibinibigay ang ating mga pampublikong pag-aari sa mga oligarko,. Ito ang problema sa pribatisasyon tapos ang sisingilin ng malaki ay ang taumbayan tulad ng nangyari sa EPIRA at Primewater” Zarate stressed.
Zarate called for an immediate congressional investigation on the transaction, saying it is part of a long-running pattern of privatizing key public utilities at the expense of the Filipino people, and in favor of big business interests.
“Deals like this only serve to increase the stranglehold of oligarchs over our country’s energy sector, at the cost of higher electricity rates and less accountability to the public. We cannot allow the government to simply give away strategic public assets for a song,” Zarate added.
“Nananawagan kami ng agarang imbestigasyon para matigil na ang pagbebenta ng ating mga pangunahing yaman sa mga malalaking negosyante. Pag-aari ito ng mamamayan, hindi ng iilan,” he concluded. #
