ILOILO City – The Regional Trial Court (RTC) here granted Panay Electric Co.’s (PECO) motion to suspend the hearing of the expropriation case filed against it by More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), the city’s new power distributor.
In March this year, MORE Power asked the court to issue a writ of possession authorizing it to take immediate control, operation, use, and disposition of PECO’s power distribution system assets.
It also petitioned the court to determine the reasonable value of PECO’s power distribution system assets for just compensation, then order the transfer of the ownership of these upon payment of a just compensation.
PECO, whose franchise expired on Jan. 19, 2019 yet, filed a motion to suspend the expropriation proceedings while waiting for the decision of Mandaluyong City’s Regional Trial Court Branch 209 on the petition it filed on March 6. PECO questioned the constitutionality of MORE Power’s franchise law, Republic Act (RA) 11212.
“Sinabi namin sa korte (in Iloilo City) na hindi muna dapat dinggin ang application for writ of possession ng MORE Power dahin meron pa kaming pending motion to suspend proceedings. Kaya naman kami nag-file (ng petition at the court in Mandaluyong Cit) is kinikwestiyon namin ang constitutionality ng batas (RA 11212),” said Atty. Estrella Elamparo, lead counsel of PECO’s legal team, over DyFM Bombo Radyo Iloilo.
She added: “Walang basehan ang pagtuloy ng hearing today hangga’t hindi pa na-resolve ang aming motion to suspend proceedings. Hindi naman sinasabi ng korte na hindi nito ihe-hear ‘yung application. ‘Yun nga lang, nakita nya seguro ang aming argumento or naintindihan nya na dapat nga muna unahin ’yung motion to suspend proceedings bago ma-set for hearings ‘yung application for writ of possession.”
For his part, PECO administrative manager Marcelo Cacho said they must wait for the Mandaluyong Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of MORE Power’s franchise “because this is a precedent-setting case that will have repercussions in the entire power industry.”
PECO has vowed to exhaust all legal remedies to protect its power distribution assets.
Meanwhile, Atty. Hector Teodosio of MORE Power played down the suspension of the hearing of the expropriation case filed against PECO.
“Posible nga i-resolve na lang sang judge ang motion for suspension. Kon ma-resolve ina kag i-deny ang ila motion for suspension, eventually ma-hearing,” said MORE Power’s legal counsel.
He expressed confidence that MORE Power’s expropriation case against PECO would succeed.
“Ara na tanan nga ebidensya. Ara na ang deposits. It is only a matter of time nga maggwa ang writ of possession,” said Teodosio.
PECO, he added, is expected to resort to “delaying tactics.”
“Pero how long gid nila ma-delay? The law is clear. May right ang MORE Power to take possession (of PECO’s assets) kag it is clear nga kon maka-deposit na ang MORE Power sang kwarta, ang writ of possession masulod gid dapat,” said Teodosio./PN
