ILOILO City – It is “business as usual”, beleaguered Panay Electric Co. (PECO) assured consumers in a letter that criticized as “illegal” the court-issued writ of possession that allowed MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) to “forcibly” take over some of its properties.
“There is a pending case in the Supreme Court and a minor court like the RTC cannot execute anything with finality until the case is decided in the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land,” read part of the letter signed by PECO president and chief executive officer Luis Miguel Cacho.
The letter was referring to the Regional Trial Court, Branch 23 of Presiding Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras.
“PECO will be seeking clarification and rectification from the local RTC during the upcoming hearings,” according to Cacho.
On Feb. 29, PECO legal counsel Estrella Elamparo described as “unprecedented in its irregularity” the takeover of PECO’s properties, and “illegal, if not criminal” the manner by which it was accomplished.
She lamented that Contreras disregarded the pending Supreme Court (SC) case on the constitutionality of MORE Power’s franchise and the standing order on the suspension of the expropriation proceedings against PECO issued by Judge Antonio Gerardo Amular of RTC, Branch 35.
“The fight is not yet over,” declared Cacho.
Despite the “illegal seizure” of PECO properties by MORE Power, Cacho assured consumers “your PECO family is still the one that continues to operate and attend to your needs.”
“PECO still owns all its power distribution assets,” according to Cacho. “While MORE Power may have taken control of some of our facilities, they do not own any of these.”
He further assured consumers, “We are exhausting all legal remedies to regain control of our own substations, vehicles, materials, and equipment.”
“We will also be filing cases against those parties involved in the unjust implementation of the writ of possession,” Cacho added.
By coming out with the letter, PECO appears to be taking its case directly to consumers.
On March 2, Contreras warned both MORE Power and PECO to “strictly observe the gag order” issued by Judge Amular who previously heard their expropriation case.
Contreras specifically called out Atty. Elamparo for “malicious statements on air, of an alleged meeting with the judge of a certain MORE personality the day before the writ was served, alluding to the court’s conspiracy with the plaintiff.”
Contreras also warned MORE Power and PECO against resorting to “any form of propaganda” that would undermine the court’s integrity and credibility.
She also stressed she was “not dissuaded to further hear the case with utmost impartiality.”
Contreras is scheduled to hear PECO’s Motion of Clarification today, March 6.
In a Manila press conference on March 3, Elamparo discussed PECO’s supplemental petition to its existing request for the Court of Appeals (CA) to nullify three Iloilo court orders that paved the way for MORE Power’s “forcible, deceptive and intimidating” takeover of its stations and facilities.
PECO asked the CA to issue a temporary restraining order stopping the continued implementation of an Iloilo court-issued writ of possession, as well as a status quo ante order that would “restore” its possession of the substations and other properties that it claims were illegally seized by MORE.
Meanwhile, Cacho reassured consumers “our operations continue as usual.”
“Our valued customers may go to the PECO main office to apply for connections, inquire about their bills, and settle their bills. Our accredited collection agencies and banks are also collecting payments as usual,” according to Cacho.
He advised consumers not to pay to MORE Power “because they have no legal basis to operate our services yet and, as such, your payments to MORE Power may just go to waste.”/PN
