A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY AND THE

LEGITIMACY OF THE JOINT CONGRESSIONAL POWER COMMISSION

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF JURIS DOCTOR


ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF LAW

JOSE ROBERTO D. BOLANTE
2014












AMA NAMON SA IMO ANG HIMAYA











To my family, loved ones, friends,
and, fellow Aquilans




ABSTRACT


Democracy is the binding principle of the Philippine government. The heroes
who fought and died for the Philippines believed in this ideal and it has ever since
served as the countrys foundation. Because of this, the Philippine Government is
separated into the three major co-equal branches, namely the Executive, Legislature,
and the Judiciary. They enjoy independence from each other yet are expected to
collaborate in policy development and implementation.
To address the growing needs of the country, the Legislature exercised its
legislative power by enacting the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).
It was intended as a means to change electric power production and consumption in the
Philippines. The law successfully reinvented the countrys electrical power production
system. It created various new entities with specific functions in the industry. In simple
terms, the EPIRA turned the power industry into a new complex web to match the
growing need for electricity.
One of these entities is the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC). It is
an alleged congressional committee meant to observe the power industry and its
players. In fact, it has many powers under the EPIRA to accomplish such task.
Eventually, other laws, like the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, conferred it more
powers and functions. Even with the ostensible legitimacy of the JCPC, it actually
exercises its powers unconstitutionally. It encroaches upon the powers of the Executive,
the Legislative, and the Judiciary. Because of this, the JCPC should be abolished and its
authority should be transferred to other legitimate government bodies and
instrumentalities that can fill its shoes, without hampering the implementation of the
laws of the power industry. Otherwise, there will be no limit to the JCPCs powers.









TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT
CHAPTER I- INTRODUCTION
A. BACKGROUND OF THE THESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
B. THESIS STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
C. DEFINITION OF BASIC TERMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
D. OBJECTIVE OF THE THESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
E. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
F. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
G. ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
H. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CHAPTER II- EPIRA, REA, AND POWER INDUSTRY
A. EPIRA: PURPOSE AND EFFECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
B. REA: THE NEW DEVELOPMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
C. NATIONAL TRANSMISSION COMPANY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
D. PSALM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
CHAPTER III- THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
A. FUNCTIONS UNDER EPIRA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
B. FUNCTIONS UNDER REA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
CHAPTER IV- THE PHILIPPINE POWER SYSTEM
A. POWER SYSTEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
B. THE WIRE BUSINESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
C. TRANSMISSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
D. DISTRIBUTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
E. NON-WIRE BUSINESS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
F. GENERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
G. SUPPLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
CHAPTER V- REGULATING THE POWER INDUSTRY
A. ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION UNDER THE EPIRA . . . . . . . . .39
B. ENFORCING RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE EPIRA. . . . . . . . . . . 40
C. SETTING RATES AND CHARGES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
D. ADJUDICATORY POWERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
CHAPTER VI- THE JCPC: AN ANALYSIS
A. WHAT IS THE JCPC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
B. A SURVEY OF OTHER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES AND
COMPARING THEM TO THE JCPC: SHOWING WHY
THE JCPC IS THE PROPER COMMITTEE TO BE
ANALYZED BY THIS STUDY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
C. THE VALIDITY OF THE ISSUES IS NOT MOOT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
D. THE JCPC IS NOT A COMMITTEE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
E. THREE FORMS OF CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
F. ANALYZING AND REINFORCING JOSES LEGISLATIVE
OVERSIGHT COMMITTEES: OVERSEEING
CONSTITUTIONAL BOUNDARIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
G. JCPC RESOLUTION NO. 2002-01 AS AN AMENDMENT TO THE
EPIRA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
H. JCPC DICTATES THE SALES OF NPC ASSETS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
I. LEGISLATIVE VETO IN RENEGOTIATION OF POWER
PURCHASE AND ENERGY CONVERSION AGREEMENTS. . . . . . . . 56
J. DIVERGING ARGUMENT AGAINST THE LEGISLATIVE
VETO IN ADOPTING IRRS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
K. THE JCPC IMPAIRS EPIRAS IMPLEMENTATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
L. FIRST LEVEL OF REDUNDANCY: SENATE AND HOUSE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
M. SECOND LEVEL OF REDUNDANCY: THE DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
N. REDUNDANCY AS A GROUND FOR ABOLITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
O. THE JCPCS POWERS UNDER REA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
CHAPTER VII- CONCLUSION
A. THE JCPC IS NUGATORY AND A WASTE OF RESOURCES. . . . . . .70
B. NULLIFYING THE JCPC WILL NOT AFFECT EPIRAS
IMPLEMENTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
C. REA WILL CONTINUE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
CHAPTER VIII- RECOMMENDATIONS
A. DISALLOW OR ABOLISH THE JCPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

B. INVESTIAGTION OF OTHER SIMILAR COMMISSION AND
ENTITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
C. RE-EXAMINATION OF EPIRA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81