Consumer groups and civil society organizations are calling for the immediate implementation of the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman suspending four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission for one year.
Member organizations from the Power for People Coalition, in a statement, asked ERC chairman Agnes Devanadera to respect the decision of the Ombudsan which suspended Commissioners Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Alfredo Non, Josefina Patricia Magpala-Asirit and Geronimo Sta. Ana after being found “guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, aggravated by simple misconduct and simple neglect of duty.”
The Ombudsman also charged the four ERC officials, including the dismissed ERC Chairperson Jose Vicente Salazar with violation of “Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly causing undue injury to the government and giving unwarranted benefits to private parties,” pertaining to the exemption given to distribution utilities by the ERC from the Competitive Selection Process, which supposedly requires Power Supply Agreements entered into by the DUs to be subjected to public bidding.
“We are calling on ERC Chairperson Devanadera to respect the decision of the Court and disallow the suspended Commissioners from participating in the hearings regarding the 7 PSAs entered into by Manila Electric Co. with its sister companies,” said Aaron Pedrosa, Secretary-General of Sanlakas, one of the convenors of the P4P Coalition and among the petitioners who filed Ombudsman cases against the Commissioners.