Cusi to ERC chief: Go on leave

MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said yesterday it would be best for Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Jose Vicente Salazar to take a leave pending investigation into ERC corruption as insinuated by the agency’s late director Francisco Villa Jr. in his suicide notes.

“That is a prudent thing to do, to give way to the independent investigation,” Cusi said.

Cusi declined to comment on the next steps that could be taken since the ERC has already asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe into the death of Villa last month.

Cusi said he did not want to dip his hands further into the issue.

“What we did (was) we called for an independent investigation. Other than that, we asked for a copy of the documents but we cannot make any conclusion from the suicide notes. That’s why we called (for) an expert to investigate,” he said.

Earlier, Salazar said they asked for a meeting with President Duterte in light of the corruption allegations thrown against the country’s power regulator by Villa.

This would allow them to highlight the crucial role of the power regulator in reforming the electric power industry, he said.

But during the inauguration of a power plant on Nov. 28, the President reiterated his stance to abolish the ERC if its ranking officials would not resign following Villa’s death and accusations.

Cusi said such was the immediate reaction of the President because he was “very much against corruption” and this formed part of his campaign promises.

But since the ERC is created by law, the regulating body cannot be abolished easily, he said.

The ERC is a quasi-judicial and legislative body created by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to determine rates, promote competition, encourage market development, ensure consumer choice and penalize abuse of market power in the restructured electricity industry. 

“There should be a legal reconstitution on what to do. We cannot just abolish it because there are a number of factors to be considered, including consumers and the point of view of investors,” Cusi said.

“By law, ERC should be there because they determine rates… There must be a replacement if it will be abolished,” he said.

Villa committed suicide last Nov. 9 reportedly due to pressure from superiors to do corrupt activities.

House, Senate to probe ERC too

But congressmen-allies of Duterte threatened to cut funding for the ERC to effectively shut it down following refusal of the agency’s officials to heed the President’s demand for them to resign.

The President first warned ERC that he would ask his congressional allies to either abolish the agency or deny funding for it while in Peru two weeks ago for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit,

“Definitely, Congress is ready to respond to the President’s call,” Rep. Jericho Nograles of party-list group Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) said.

Nograles said the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC), of which he is a member, should convene and investigate the allegations of corruption among top ERC officials.

“The JCPC should meet before the approval of the proposed P3.35-trillion 2017 national budget to also look into the President’s wish to give the ERC a zero budget,” Nograles said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said leaders of the committees on energy of the Senate and the House of Representatives would meet informally next week to discuss the convening of the JCPC to tackle corruption issues in the ERC.

If the joint commission recommends it, the Senate and the House could consider scrapping the ERC budget for next year, Nograles said.

The proposed national budget for next year is now with a bicameral conference committee, which is chaired by Nograles’ brother Karlo, House appropriations committee chairman and representative of Davao City’s first district, and his Senate counterpart Loren Legarda. – With Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero