PECO employees seek GMA intervention

MANILA, Philippines — The employees union of an electric cooperative in Iloilo City are seeking the intercession of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo out of fear they might lose their jobs as a result of the attempt by a very powerful businessman to take over the local power firm. 

In a letter dated Sept. 19, the workers of the Panay Electric Co. Inc. – or the PECO Employees and Workers Association – appealed to the Pampanga congresswoman to give them “assistance in giving fair and equal treatment to their employer, PECO, for the renewal of its franchise.” 

“PECO employs many workers in order to maintain and operate the business of electric power distribution and conveyance to the end users in the city of Iloilo. Non-renewal of the PECO franchise will automatically result in the displacement of these workers whose families depend upon their continued employment with PECO,” they said. 

The Committee on Legislative Franchises of the House of Representatives, headed by Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, awarded last Sept. 17 to More Minerals Corp. the franchise for the exclusive power distribution business in Iloilo City.

The current holder of the franchise is PECO, which has been serving the area for the past 95 years. On July 2017, it submitted with the Alvarez committee its application to Congress for the renewal of its franchise, which is due to expire on January 2019. 

The plea also cited the fact that MMC, which applied for the franchise last Aug. 22, has no previous track record in power distribution and is under-capitalized. The Alvarez committee approved MMC’s franchise on Sept. 17, through House Bill 8132, authored by Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting.

Meantime, the MMC camp used a 2004 directive of the Energy Regulatory Commission wherein PECO was told to refund its customers P631 million allegedly due to overbilling, which officials claimed PECO has yet to comply with. Customers complained they were billed for unused electricity.

Earlier, the lawyer-husband of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte expressed opposition to the grant by the Alvarez committee of a legislative franchise to a mining company applying to replace PECO in Iloilo City. 

Manases Carpio – who represents PECO, which has provided power to Iloilo for the past 95 years – said mining firm More Minerals Corp. is not entitled to be granted an electric distribution franchise, especially if this is done “without due diligence.” 

“We, thus, respectfully request your committee to hold in abeyance its approval of the franchise application of MMC under House Bill 8142 until after more public hearings, with proper invitations to attend and adequate notice given to all stakeholders,” Carpio suggested. 

“We believe that this is the best way to serve the public interest as your committee goes about its business of determining which of the franchise applicants deserve its nod,” he wrote in a two-page letter dated Sept. 24 to Palawan Rep. Alvarez. 

Carpio said PECO objects “in the strongest terms possible” to the alleged indecent haste and lack of justification the panel gave if only to favor MMC’s HB 8132 over House Bill 6023. 

HB 6023, endorsing the renewal of PECO’s franchise, was filed by Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo as far back as July 2017, while MMC’s HB 8132 was filed by Paranaque Rep. Gus Tambunting – chairman of the Committee on Games and Amusement – only last Aug. 22.