a simultaneous development, the president appointed Gabriel Y. Itchon as Deputy Minister of Energy and concurrently president and chief executive officer of the National Power Corporation, the first ever to be appointed in such capacity in the then 43-year history of the corporation. Under P.D. No. 1360, the designation of president replaced that of the general manager as head of the office. Along with the appointment of Itchon as NPC president were the appointments of top management men to the positions of senior vice president, vice president, and department manager as part of the reorganization move to make the corporation more responsive and attuned to the needs of the service and the demands of the times. Take-over of Meralco In November 1972, when the President issued Presidential Decree No. 40, the National Power Corporation was authorized “to own and operate, as a single integrated system, all generating facilities supplying electric power to the entire area embraced by any grid set up by NPC.” Contemplated to be integrated in the system were all Meralco generating units, and thus began a long drawn-out negotiation for the sale and turnover of these units to the government at terms and conditions acceptable to all parties. Finally, on June 11, 1978, such negotiation reached a successful climax with the signing of a contract between the government and Meralco for the purchase of the latter's power-generating units at a total cost of ₱1,100 million. The contract was signed by Finance Minister Cesar E.A. Virata, representing the government, and Cesar C. Zalamea, chairman of Meralco, with Energy Minister and NP Board Chairman Geronimo Z. Velasco, Energy Deputy Minister and NPC President Gabriel Y. Itchon, IBP Assemblyman Emilio M. Abelo, Sr. and Meralco Treasurer Antonio Ozateta as witnesses. The government purchase of the thermal plants of Meralco was in line with the NPC policy to centralize all generating capacities in Luzon under its operations as part of the unification of the so-called Luzon grid. Such centralization is aimed at providing energy throughout the Philippines and building up additional generating capacity for electricity in pursuance of the government objective of total electrification of the country. Meralco units covered by the initial sale are those of Malaya 1 in Pililla, Rizal; Gardners 1 and II and Synders 1 and II in Sucat, Parañaque, and fuel storage facilities in San Pascual, Batangas. Negotiations for the Meralco sale began in 1975 when