A party-list lawmaker has stressed the need for Congress to convene the Joint Congressional Power Commission to look into the allegations of corruption among the top officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
PBA party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles said the JCPC should exercise its oversight powers to ensure the proper implementation of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Act of 2001, which created the ERC.
While he is committed to support President Duterte’s call for the abolition of the ERC, Nograles said it is best that the JCPC should first convene and recommend how to best address the corruption allegations at the ERC.
“To abolish the ERC, we will need to amend the entire EPIRA Law. Definitely, Congress is ready to respond to the President’s call for the ERC abolition, but I suggest that the JCPC should first step in and look into this issue,” said Nograles,vice chairman of the House committee on energy.
The JCPC should convene before the approval of P3.35-trillion national budget to also look into President Duterte’s wish to give the ERC no budget owing to corruption allegations by the late ERC Director Francisco Villa Jr., the lawmaker said.
The JCPC could also exercise its oversight powers to reorganize the ERC or remove ERC officials, led by its chairman and chief executive officer Jose Vicente B. Salazar, he added.
At the same time, Nograles appealed to Salazar and the other members of the ERC Board to spare the commission from further disgrace and embarrassment by voluntarily stepping down from their posts.
“They should also spare ordinary ERC employees the agony of losing their jobs in the event that Congress decides to abolish the ERC for their refusal to resign from their present positions,” Nograles said.
Villa exposed corruption in the ERC before committing suicide several weeks ago. He specifically identified Salazar as pressuring him to rig bidding procedures for certain ERC projects.
Although Villa has not presented any proof to support his claims, which could help the Office of the Ombudsman pursue charges against rogue ERC officials, Nograles said they have already lost the public’s trust and confidence “and anything that they do from hereon will be viewed with suspicion.”
“I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt but this issue is no longer a question of their innocence or guilt. As far as I am concerned, they are no longer effective in carrying out the mandate of their office,” Nograles said.
“It’s like being on a sinking boat and the only way to save everyone else is for them to jump overboard. They should at least think about the plight of the other ERC employees who would lose their jobs if the entire commission is dissolved.”
Without the president’s support and without any budget to support their operations, the ERC would not be able to effectively carry out its mandate as an independent power industry regulator, Nograles added.