THERE is no more alternative for Panay Electric Co. (PECO) and MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) but to bury the hatchet. Whatever they say against each other would not prevent the final “destiny” of one of them emerging as the new power distributor in Iloilo City.
The only win-win solution for both corporate giants now is to follow the law – Republic Act (RA) 11212 – granting MORE Power the franchise to distribute electricity here in the next 25 years.
There is no sense in further arguing over the “addendum to the writ of possession” issued by Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 23. The writ enabled MORE Power to seize PECO’s power distribution facilities.
The addendum issued by the judge during last Friday’s hearing (March 6) sparked controversy, with PECO interpreting it to mean that the court would want it to regain control of the power utility because it still possesses the certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
MORE Power’s counsel Atty. Hector Teodosio begged to disagree, stressing that the judge’s addendum “was referring to PECO personnel, not PECO management.”
This writer knows for a fact that they are the same workers who had resigned from PECO and transferred to MORE Power, hence capable of ensuring uninterrupted power supply.
Judge Contreras asked both parties to wait until the next scheduled hearing (March 26, 2020) pending the court’s examination of the applicable CPCN.
She might have proceeded with the expropriation hearing had she received a copy of the March 5, 2020 communique from ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera addressed to the presidents of MORE Power and PECO – Roel Castro and Luis Miguel Cacho, respectively — revoking PECO’s CPCN and granting it instead to MORE Power in accordance with Section 5 of RA 11212
Section 5 authorizes MORE Power to “supply electricity to its captive market in the urban and rural portions of its franchise area in the least costly manner.”
It would be futile for PECO to insist on waiting for the Supreme Court (SC) to rule first on its petition to declare RA 11212 “unconstitutional” before an expropriation could proceed. As Judge Contreras has reiterated, the law possesses “presumption of constitutionality.”
The “Electric Power Industry Reform Act” (EPIRA), Section 23, specifies: “Distribution utilities may exercise the power of eminent domain subject to the requirements of the Constitution and existing laws.”
If PECO were confident that the SC would reverse RTC’s decision, it has to wait for a reversal which is unlikely because PECO’s franchise had expired by January 19, 2019.
What’s left for the lower court to decide is the “just compensation” of almost P482 million that MORE Power has offered to pay PECO. While the latter has the option of opposing its sufficiency, the court would have the final say based on evidence presented.
The law granting MORE Power the new franchise should have been operational since March 1, 2019 — 15 days after President Duterte signed it on February 14, 2019.
PECO could have immediately negotiated with MORE Power for a smooth transition by looking at the bright side of the provisions it had assailed, namely Sections 10 and 17.
Section 10 covers the right of eminent domain authorizing MORE Power to expropriate the power-distribution facilities in exchange for “just compensation.”
PECO could also have gained extra income within the two-year transition period. as per Section 17: “Panay Electric Co. (PECO) shall in the interim be authorized to operate the existing distribution system within the franchise area.” (hvego31@gmail.com /PN)
