Several congressmen called for the termination of an ongoing congressional investigation involving the Energy Regulatory Commission, following the alleged suicide of ERC director Jose Francisco Villa Jr.
House minority leader and Quezon province Rep. Danilo Suarez made the motion for the conclusion of the hearings Monday, noting the two committees might have already exhausted questions pertaining to the said suicide.
Suarez’ motion was backed by several other congressmen, including Deputy Speakers Gwendolyn Garcia and Sharon Garin, and party-list representatives Harry Roque and Rodel Batocabe.
Suarez, in calling for an end to the probe, noted that the amounts involved in the projects in question “are too small” and that Congress should instead focus on “the sensitivity of ERC as an institution.”
The hearings, being conducted jointly by the House committees on energy, and good government and public accountability, centered on the possible role of ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar regarding alleged pressure on Villa in connection with the procurement process for a P300,000 audio-visual project.
Salazar denied exerting pressure on Villa, adding that he had personally handpicked the late ERC official to head the agency’s bids and awards committee.
The Commission on Audit earlier cleared Salazar in connection with the said project. According to the CoA report, no contract was signed and no government funds were released for the AVP.
In the latest hearing, solons also centered on allegations concerning the renovation of the ERC boardroom and an office pest control project.
Salazar denied knowledge of the procurement process of the projects as the bids and awards committee worked independently. Salazar saud projects amounting to less than P250,000 were delegated to commissioner Alfredo Non, who had oversight for financial concerns.
Salazar’s chief of staff, Steve Riva, testified in the hearing that the go-signal for the said projects were given by the late Villa himself.
The congressmen, during the same hearing, raised questions regarding the decision by the ERC to extend the deadline for the implementation of the Competitive Supply Procurement policy.
The CSP requires distribution utilities to secure at least two bids from qualified generating companies when procuring their power supply. The process also requires that the call for bids be done openly and that DUs may buy from affiliated generating companies only as a last resort.
Solons questioned the extension of the deadline for compliance since it tended to favor the country’s largest distribution utility, Manila Electric Company.
Salazar went on record that he had opposed the move to extend the deadline and that the decision to do so was made by the majority.