House panel OKs franchise for Iloilo power company
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives committee on legislative franchises has endorsed the grant of a franchise to a company that plans to provide electricity to residents of Iloilo City.
The proposed franchise for More Minerals Corp. is contained in Bill 8132 principally authored by Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting.
However, the proposal, even before the House could consider it in plenary session, has already attracted controversy.
In a letter to Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, who chairs the franchises committee, Panay Electric Co. (Peco), the current electricity distributor in Iloilo City and other parts of Iloilo, protested the planned franchise grant.
Peco said the bill would allow its competitor to “expropriate” its assets in violation of its constitutional and legal rights.
It said its competitor, being a mining company, has no experience in the power industry.
Peco also accused the Alvarez committee of sitting on its franchise renewal application and favoring a new applicant.
It said it would challenge the franchise bill before the Supreme Court if the House approves it.
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