LEGAZPI CITY: The Albay power cooperative is so far the worst among the worse electric cooperatives according to a Bicol party-list, as it also assails the National Electric Administration (NEA) for the woes facing its 250,000 consumers.
Speaking on behalf of the Ako-Bicol party-list, which has three nominees, congressman Rodel Batocabe said NEA has not done its duty to avert the culture of abuses and gross mismanagement of the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco), which is now in the brink of total bankruptcy.
Aleco is rocked by disputes between the management represented by its board of directors and the employees union on issues of corruption and mismanagement.
Interviewed at radio station dwZR by anchorman Wally Magdasoc on Wednesday, the party-list solon said that power cooperatives like Aleco is part of the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCC), whose operation should comply the same process under the general auditing rules and the government procurement act.
Last week, the province of Albay shocked Aleco’s 250,000 consumers following its recommendation for an additional P1.66-per-kilowatt-hour increase in an effort to solve the woes of the cooperative after it got notice for disconnection on September 12.
Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda of Albay said that the proposed rate increase was offered to solve the disconnection threat and prevent future disconnections, adding that Albay has the lowest power rate of P8.56 per kwh.
The Aleco disconnection threat was a result of its unpaid P982 million debts to the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. equivalent to 36 monthly installments. Department of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras suspended the disconnection threat following an appeal from Salceda.
Salceda’s proposal for a rate increase was seconded by a resolution from the provincial board.
According to Batocabe, Aleco is being allowed to negotiate purchases on their own even without public bidding and control from NEA when government agencies including GOCC’s have the Commission on Audit as its watchdog performing pre-audit or post audit in compliance of the procurement act.
Meanwhile, six Bicol congressmen—Christopher Co (Ako-Bicol), Alfredo Garbin (Ako-Bicol), Edcel Lagman (first district), Al Francis Bichara (seconddistrict) and Fernando Gonzales (third district) have bonded together in opposing the proposed power rate increase. They said that the 250,000 consumers should be spared from the sins committed by the Aleco management.
The Albay Consumer Watch, Bayan Muna and the Catholic Social Action Center also strongly condemned the rate increase proposal.
The ailing Aleco has been under the management of NEA for more than a decade that ended in 2006. In 2008, Aleco forged another “operation and maintenance” contract with the National Power Corp. (Napocor) for one year upon recommendation of Salceda to former President Gloria Arroyo in his bid to save the hallucinating cooperative.
Congressman Bichara, however, lashed at the Aleco board after it issued termination of contract at the time when Napocor was successfully heading over an impressive recovery for Aleco.
The Napocor, Bichara said had asked for an extension of one year after its contract ended in June 2009 but was rejected by the Aleco board headed by Salceda’s lawyer Rodolfo Bonafe as chairman.
According to Batocabe, most cooperatives are successful in their operation owing it to sound management and less corruption, citing the case of Batangas and Leyte provinces.
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