RROW issue delays NGCP project

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Citing landowners firm demand for higher land price, on the road right-of-way (RROW), as a cause for the delay in expropriating lands where steel power towers will be erected, the National Power Grid Corporation appealed for their cooperation for the eventual completion of the Ormoc-Babatngon 139-kV line project.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza explained to representatives of the local government units and the local media—via a presentation of the project dubbed as Power 102—the intricacies of the acquisition of the land although this is covered by the state’s power of eminent domain.

Alabanza said acquiring privately owned properties for NGCP projects, in spite of its primary purpose of public use, demands just compensation. “The NGCP under its franchise is granted the right of eminent domain as among the powers of the government under the Constitution,” she said.

“We can take properties through expropriation but of course after payment of what we call just compensation, but NGCP does not like to court the ire of landowners) that we will just get in without talks, so we just file cases for expropriation,” the NGCP official said.

“The right for expropriation is a potent weapon,” Alabanza said. “Theoretically, the court should not anymore question the wisdom of the project whether it is for public use and it will be good for the country that is already assumed in expropriation case,” she said.

“What should only discussed in the expropriation case is the price nothing else,” she said, adding that, before NGCP gets to that point, it tries to negotiate with the landowners, in order to avoid a lengthy court trial.

Alabanza further explained that, under court procedures, the NGCP upon payment of 10 percent of the declared price can take possession of the land by virtue of writ of possession that the court will issue.

“This means that while we are discussing the topic on just compensation we can already take possession, but we don’t want to aggravate the landowners because the power will be there and we will foster harmonious relationship with the people,” she said.

Alabanza said it is the national government that will pay the landowners for projects covered before 2009, but after the NGCP took over, it will be the one to pay, and this payment had already been programmed ahead to be included in the price cost sold to power distributors and eventually to power end users and consumers.

The Ormoc-Babatngon project according to Winifredo Paguia, Visayas Project head, is 93.144 percent completed as to transmission line portion and 97.74 for sub-station portion as of September 19 this year. The project started in February 2012 and is projected to be completed to energize the Leyte areas

Betty Martinez, NGCP corporate communications and public affairs officer, said areas traversed by the towers of NGCP under Ormoc-Babatngon 138-kV line are the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, and the towns of Capoocan, Carigara, Barugo, San Miguel, Babatngon and Alang-Alang. (FREEMAN)