THAT statement would preferably have ended with a period rather than a question mark. But due to the protracted refusal of Panay Electric Co. (PECO) to give way to MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), one could never be too sure whether PECO would immediately heed the court order.
The Aug. 14, 2019 decision of Judge Yvette Go of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 37 granted MORE Power’s application for a writ of possession to take control of PECO’s power distribution system – including substations, poles, power lines, vehicles, building and electric meters.
Let us quote a portion of Judge Go’s decision:
“The exercise of the power of eminent domain may be validly delegated to other government entities and even to private corporations like the so-called quasi-public corporations giving public needs or operating public utilities.”
MORE Power’s president, Roel Z. Castro, welcomed the decision as green light for his company to “immediately address and correct poor services, overcharging, frequent brownouts, expensive rates, old and unsafe facilities and practices, and other service deficiencies that this city’s power users and consumers had long suffered.”
The law (RA 11212) granted the new 25-year franchise to MORE Power. It is public knowledge that PECO ceased to be the franchisee with the expiration of its franchise on Jan. 19, 2019.
PECO would therefore not gain public sympathy. It has already amassed billions of pesos in profit from 96 straight years of power monopoly without satisfying its 64,000 present-day customers. Its leaning lamp posts, “spaghetti” wirings and dangling “whatevers” were among the reasons why Congress junked its application for renewal of franchise.
PECO’s continuance in service on the strength of a temporary certificate of public conveyance and necessity (CPCN) could only be considered in relation to Section 17 of RA 11212: “Panay Electric Co. (PECO) shall in the interim be authorized to operate the existing distribution system within the franchise area… until the establishment or acquisition by the grantee of its own distribution system and its complete transition towards full operations as determined by the ERC.”
Judge’s Go’s order, according to MORE Power’s lawyer Hector Teodosio, would compel the sheriff to effect a smooth turnover of power-distribution equipment from PECO to MORE Power as first step in the expropriation proceedings.
After this, there will be a hearing for just compensation to be heard by Judge Daniel Antonio Gerardo Amular of RTC Branch 35.
“Just compensation” refers to the power of the court to fix the reasonable amount payable to the expropriated power distributor. MORE Power has deposited P481,842,450 in the bank as guarantee for that purpose, based on PECO’s declared value of its assets.
The “right of eminent domain” or the power of the government to expropriate a utility or to delegate that power to a private group is covered by Section 10 of RA 11212: “The grantee may acquire such private property as is actually necessary for the realization of the purposes for which this franchise is granted, including but not limited to poles, wires, cables, transformers… Provided, that proper expropriation proceedings shall have been instituted and just compensation paid.”
While firm in his belief that there is no more legal impediment for his client to expropriate PECO’s facilities, it would not be that simple during the transition period. PECO would have to pay separation pay to each regular employee out of “just compensation” from MORE Power.
On the part of MORE Power, it has already partially hired its own employees, some of whom are transferees from PECO.
There could be only one win-win move for PECO and MORE Power, and that is to amicably settle differences. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
