00:00Several lawmakers felt dismay as the Chinese board chairman and Chinese directors of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, or NGCP,
00:10as well as their billionaire Filipino-Chinese partners, were no show in today's hearing of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.
00:18Earlier today, the House panel continued its motu proporio inquiry on the performance and alleged violations of the NGCP.
00:28Among the officials absent were NGCP Chair Zhou Guangchao and Vice Chairman Henry See, Jr., and businessman Robert Coyueto, Jr.
00:40Other Chinese nationals in the NGCP board, namely Yao Yuxing, Wang Lijun, and Liu Xinhua, were nowhere to be found in today's inquiry.
00:51Although they sent letters explaining their absences, several lawmakers insist they should face the panel next hearing.
00:59Other issues, like the alleged red button in China, which allegedly can remotely control the power supply in the country, was also discussed earlier.
01:21I confirm that there is no push button anywhere that can block out the whole grid of the Philippines.
01:48Mr. Chair, all our load dispatch centers and engineers in our facilities are all Filipinos.
01:58NGCP is a Filipino corporation, and we run the company as Filipinos.
02:05We bought the transmission business from the government in 2007 in an open public bidding at the cost of almost $4 billion.
02:14We did this in good faith and in accordance with the PIRA law passed by Congress.
