This paper looks at the privatization process of the Philippine electric power industry. It outlines the developments in the law governing the industry, with emphasis on the measures that steered privatization. It provides an overview of the role that the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank played in pushing privatization. It argues that the power sector reform is a resounding success in terms of meeting the ADB and World Bank’s bottom line of creating the biggest space for private sector participation, but is a dismal failure in terms of serving the public interest. The way the privatization of the Philippine energy sector has evolved has meant higher electricity prices for consumers, greater probability of private sector power in the sector, lesser environmental protection, and legitimizing wrong policies and corruption.
