ILOILO City – The Supreme Court has denied MORE Electric and Power Corp.’s (MORE Power) petition for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and/or writ of preliminary injunction against the ruling of the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 209 that declared two provisions of the power firm’s franchise law unconstitutional.
In effect, according to rival Panay Electric Co. (PECO), moves to take over its power distribution assets by MORE Power have been frozen.
The SC Second Division’s resolution was dated Aug. 14, 2019 but was made known only yesterday.
In another resolution acting on the urgent motion of PECO for a Show Cause Order, the SC required MORE Power to explain why it pursued an expropriation case against PECO in Iloilo City RTC Branch 37 despite the ruling of the Mandaluyong RTC.
It also ordered Iloilo City RTC Branch 37’s Presiding Judge Yvette Marie Go to explain why she approved the granting of a writ of possession to MORE Power despite the Mandaluyong RTC’s ruling.
In July, Mandaluyong RTC Branch 209 ruled that sections 10 (Right of Eminent Domain) and 17 (Transition of Operations) of Republic Act (RA) 11212, which granted MORE Power the congressional franchise to distribute electricity in Iloilo City, were “void and unconstitutional for infringing on PECO’s rights to due process and equal protection of the law.”
PECO told the SC that MORE Power’s “vigorously pursuing the expropriation case before RTC Iloilo City Branch 37 while at the same time appealing the judgment of the Mandaluyong RTC before this Court, with a prayer for the issuance of a TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction…constitutes an insidious form of forum shopping.”
With the SC denying the TRO petition, it is expected to soon rule on the main case which is the petition for review of the Mandaluyong RTC’s judgement. It could either affirm the judgment or reverse it.
“If they (MORE Power) are truly serious to serve the people of Iloilo, they will do what it takes to invest and do what President (Rodrigo) Duterte has called on all businesses: build, build, build and not take, take, take. Quoting the President himself, ‘Wag mag-agaw ng negosyo,’” said PECO administrative manager Marcelo Cacho yesterday.
MORE Power is running against a two-year deadline under its franchise to begin operating, otherwise its franchise (signed in February this year by the President) would be deemed automatically revoked.
A Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity was issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission to PECO – whose franchise expired in January this year – to continue operating until MORE Power has established its power distribution system within two years.
“Panay Electric Co. has been serving Iloilo for the past 95 years. We would like to believe that in that span of time, we have been a major part of Iloilo’s journey towards development and economic prosperity,” said Cacho.
SC’s two resolutions showed it is impervious to the pressures of big business and won’t be pushed into deciding against what’s right and constitutional, he added.
“We will strengthen our resolve to continue serving and finding the best energy solutions for the people of Iloilo while abiding by whatever decision the Supreme Court hands down,” Cacho stressed./PN
