Power struggle

The Manila Electric Company, better known as Meralco, is the only power distributor in Metro Manila. In fact, it is the only power distributor in almost half of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. It was set up in 1903 by an entrepreneur from Detroit mainly to operate Manila's electric tramway system, with power generation and distribution only as an extension of the transportation business ('Meralco' comes from the company's original name: Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company). During WWII, the company's assets were seized by the Japanese. In 1962, Eugenio Lopez Sr. bought the company and it became Filipino-owned for the very first time. In 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law, the government again forcibly seized control of Meralco and it was returned to the Lopez family only after the People Power Revolution in 1986. This year, there is another struggle for control of the power company—between the Lopez family and the Government Service Insurance System, one of the major stock holders of Meralco. Accusations are being hurled all over the place and, for a time, it was always front page news. The news may have moved on to the next big thing, but I don't think the power struggle has been resolved yet. The simple but elegantly curved building is the building most associated with Meralco and is located in the company's large complex in the Ortigas Center.