ILOILO City – What’s Panay Electric Company’s (PECO) next move?
Its application for franchise renewal (House Bill No. 6023) submitted in July last year yet remains stuck at the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.
On the other hand, the franchise application (House Bill No. 8302) of PECO’s rival MORE Electric and Power Corporation submitted just this Aug. 22 already reached the Senate Committee on Public Services.
“We will try our best to get enough votes to overturn the recommendations of the committee,” PECO legal counsel Inocencio Ferrer told Panay News.
He was referring to the Senate Committee on Public Services’ decision to approve in principle MORE’s franchise.
“There would be a technical working group (TWG). It would be inviting PECO and other government agencies to contribute to the recommendations. We will wait for the committee report and if the committee approves it and elevates it to the floor sa Senate for voting, we will try our best to get enough votes to overturn the recommendation,” said Ferrer.
PECO will also work with stakeholders in this city to convince senators to reverse the findings of the franchise committee, he added.
“We will always have good chance. It is just a matter of explaining that PECO is the best franchise because we have 95 years of experience. The other applicant does not have any experience (in power distribution),” said Ferrer.
PECO would also endeavor to convince senators that House Bill No. 8302 of MORE must be returned to the House of Representatives because PECO was not given proper hearing there, added Ferrer.
“Maraming Supreme Court decisions where the approval and recommendation of the Lower House was overruled, overturned, overridden by the Senate and the bill approved unanimously at the Lower House was returned sa Congress for proper hearing,” he said.
The Senate, according to the PECO lawyer, must focus on the qualifications of franchise applicants.
“Ang franchise, hindi lang naman ‘yan just because inakyat ng Lower House, the hands of the Senate are tied. That is not correct. The Senate can always conduct its own investigation. It has to find out whether itong kompanya is really qualified,” said Ferrer.
MORE’s Articles of Incorporation was only approved on Sept. 21, 2018 making it a power company less than 35 days, he said.
Meanwhile, Marcelo Cacho, administrative manager and son of PECO president and chief executive officer Juan Miguel Luis Cacho, questioned MORE’s not having a concrete power distribution plan for Iloilo City.
“We are wondering. What is their plan aside from the takeover? This is the biggest question. Are they going to introduce new technology?” said Cacho.
Cacho reiterated the commitment of their president that even if there is no franchise, PECO will still continue to operate.
“Because we don’t want Congress to make a rushed decision…thinking that mautod ang kuryente. We will still operate…we will not leave Iloilo behind,” he said./PN
