"I'm Sick and Tired of this Business"

That's what Oscar Lopez, chairman of First Philippine Holdings Corp. said amidst all the issues surrounding Meralco these days. And you couldn't really blame him for feeling that way. With the government and the entire Philippines, if you may, all pressuring Meralco to lower the rates while on the contrary a request to increase its rates is still pending at the Energy Regulatory Commission, what's a chairman to do? There doesn't appear to be any move from any party since if I were to believe the papers, GSIS lead by Winston Garcia isn't even sitting down with Meralco's executives to actually discuss means of solving the issue. Instead, they talk to media and expect to arrive with a miracle solution by exchanging views through a third party medium. Are they really that busy to not have time to actually talk face to face? The government, through GSIS has already explicitly denied any intention of a takeover and said they just want a change in management. Now, when you control 33% of stocks, aren't you supposed to have a significant influence on the board? And that said, I guess it's about time they stop talking "over the tv" and start doing it over coffee. Why is this power issue becoming more and more political than economic in the first place? This is probably why power rates in this country is among the highest in Asia if not the world. We're breaking records here, huh? We're also the number one rice importer in the world, among the most corrupt, and what else? Remind me please. Well, I'm sick and tired of Philippine politics. It's gonna kill us all. Run for your lives people!

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