ERC cancels all hearings due to COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is cancelling all scheduled hearings and conferences amid the Metro Manila-wide quarantine.

ERC said it would operate with a skeletal workforce scheme starting March 16 until April 14 in view of President Duterte’s suspension of work in the Executive branch in a bid to contain the spread of the  coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Under this scheme, ERC said all scheduled hearings (conducted by the legal service), conferences (conducted by consumer affairs service), pre-filing conferences (conducted by the regulatory operations service) are cancelled until further notice.

Meanwhile, frontline services extended by the consumer affairs service (located at the 12th floor) and docket section (located at the 18th Floor) will continue from Monday to Friday.

While this  work arrangement could affect pending cases before the commission, ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said the welfare of the agency’s employees and how to provide basic services are the top priority.

“First things first. Ours is how to protect our employees and how to render the most basic service to the public. In times of emergency, these are the most important things that the head of agency should be concerned about,” she said in a text message.

In 2018, the power regulator embarked on a zero backlog program, with pending applications as far back as 2009, after several controversies in the agency and the suspension of commissioners.

As a collegial body, the presence of at least three members of the commission is needed to constitute a quorum to enable the ERC to adopt any ruling, order, resolution, decision or other acts of the commission in the exercise of its quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative functions.