PSALM exec faces plunder charges over anomalous deal

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MANILA – According to San Miguel Energy Corp., a memorandum of agreement in 2009 involving the state-owned Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. and private power producers Team Philippines Energy Corp. (TPEC) and Team Sual Corp. (TSC) resulted in a P14-billion loss to the government.

San Miguel then filed a complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against PSALM president Lourdes Alzona over the anomalous 2009 contract. In the 20-page complaint, the petitioner stressed that Alzona violated Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Also included in the complaint were TPEC president Suguru Tsuzaki and  TSC executive vice president Kochi Tamura who both gained from the said 2009 deal which was ‘disadvantageous’ to the government.

PSALM, TPEC and TSC were the power producers of the Sual Power Station. Questioning the agreement, San Miguel claimed that TPEC had always been favored in transactions. They feared that the resolution was tipped to favor the company yet again.

The petitioner also asserted that ill-gotten wealth was taken from the combination of payments supposedly intended for TPEC.