Petilla joins MRC as independent director

MANILA, Philippines - Former energy secretary Carlos Petilla is back in the limelight, this time as an independent director of MRC Allied Inc., a listed company that is now diversifying into the energy sector.

Petilla and Edita Bueno, former administrator of the National Electrification Administration, joined the MRC board as independent directors effective last Friday.

They replaced Michael Arciso and former energy secretary Zenaida Monsada, who both resigned, citing personal reasons.

Aside from serving as former energy secretary, Petilla also served as governor of the province of Leyte for three consecutive terms before joining the cabinet of former president Benigno Simeon Aquino III in 2012.

Bueno, meanwhile, joined the rural electrification industry right after graduating from college and has been connected with NEA for more than 30 years. She is considered as one of the pioneers and technocrats in the area of energy development, corporate governance and policy administration. She is a fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines.

MRC Allied has a target to develop at least 1,000 megawatts of clean and renewable energy in the next five years.

It plans to further increase this target capacity by continuously exploring new sources of clean energy, building new RE power plants and acquiring shovel-ready RE projects.

The company will raise funds to finance expansion, starting with a plan to issue preferred shares and conduct a private placement.

“To achieve this goal, we will endeavor to raise funds either on our own or with strategic partners. We will aggressively explore all available options to raise capital and finance our RE projects,” its new president Gladys Nalda said.

In recent months, MRC has seen its stock price soar by more than 200 percent compared to other shares.

The company will also increase the number of board of directors to accommodate at least three independent director seats to improve the company’s corporate governance and its overall business structure.

“As we move forward and grow our business in the energy sector, we recognize that we also have to strengthen our corporate governance, increase our transparency, improve our corporate structure and enhance our management team,” Nalda said.