Case filed vs ERC chief

MANILA, Philippines - Party-list group Akbayan filed yesterday an administrative complaint against Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Zenaida Ducut for alleged neglect of duty and incompetence.

Representatives Walden Bello and Ibarra Gutierrez lodged the complaint with the Office of the President, which they said has the power to investigate Ducut and remove her from office despite her fixed tenure.

But Malacañang said that based on procedures, Ducut is not required to take a leave of absence while the administrative complaint against her is being heard.

The two said the ERC chief failed to do her duty of protecting consumers when her agency approved Meralco’s P4.15 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) rate increase without conducting public hearings.

They said Ducut should have subjected every centavo of the increase to scrutiny.

The Supreme Court, acting on a petition filed by party-list group Bayan Muna, has stopped Meralco from collecting the adjustment.

Bayan Muna claimed the ERC violated due process when it approved the increase without public hearings.

ERC officials have said their rules do not require them to hold public consultations on an increase in generation charge that a distributor like Meralco wants to impose on its customers.

They said their rules allow a distributor to automatically collect such an adjustment and the ERC would just review it later.

If upon review the distributor was found to have collected an excess amount, it would be ordered to make a refund, they said.

In their complaint, Bello and Gutierrez also cited the filing by the Department of Justice of a graft case against Ducut for allegedly acting as an agent of former congressmen accused of misusing their pork barrel funds.

They said Aquino should remove the ERC chief from office, since she is a presidential appointee.

Ducut was a congresswoman representing Pampanga’s second district before then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed her to head ERC. Arroyo now represents that district.

“The President has the power to remove Ducut. Presidential appointees, with the exception of those appointed to constitutional bodies, come under the direct disciplining authority of the President,” Gutierrez, who is a lawyer, said.

“This proceeds from the well-settled principle that, in the absence of a contrary law, the power to remove or to discipline is lodged in the same authority on which the power to appoint is vested,” Gutierrez said. “Having the power to remove and/or discipline presidential appointees, the President has the corollary authority to investigate such public officials and look into their conduct in office,” he said.

He said the penalty for neglect of duty is dismissal.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Palace “will abide by the due process” and give Ducut the opportunity to answer the allegation against her.

He said they are awaiting action of the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs under the Office of the President.

Resignation reasonable

Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he would have resigned if he were in Ducut’s situation.

“If I were in the shoes of Ducut, I would have resigned, I’ll tell you that… but I don’t know if (we) can just force her to do that and to the credit of Ducut, perhaps she should have pointed out that her office is not actually well provided for to monitor everything that is going on in the energy sector,” Belmonte said.

He said it was under Ducut’s watch that the controversy over the sharp hike in electricity rates broke out.

“Remember after it (increase in power rates) had been announced was the same time that they (Meralco) sought her okay. In other words, they announced before they got her okay as if it was a foregone conclusion that she would say yes,” he said.

He said the power rate issue was admittedly complicated and lawmakers were still trying to unravel the controversy with the aim of amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

But what was clear in the rate hike issue was the lack of coordination and planning as well as negligence on the part of Meralco, power producers and some agencies of government.

“I’m not happy about the fact that all of the producers decided to do their maintenance (of power plants) all at the same time instead of staggered basis. I’m not also happy with the fact that this was well known that they’re going to do that, and yet no advance planning had been done or adjustments had been done in advance,” he said.

He said the surge in electricity prices came as the country was still reeling from the series of natural and man-made calamities.

He said planning and foresight would have eliminated or at least minimized the increase in power rates. Paolo Romero, Aurea Calica