Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
If in the exigency of
service some officials of the Department of Energy (DOE) will be tapped to
serve as officers-in-charge (OICs) of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has forthrightly stated that he will allow
them to be on temporary assignment at the Commission.
“If that is warranted, and they (DOE
officials) are qualified and they would be able to serve at the ERC, then why
would I be selfish not to allow them,” he asserted.
Cusi qualified that he
had formally written Malacanang on the power sector’s concern over a leadership
black hole at the ERC because of the suspension of the four Commissioners, but
he said he not given any names on who could potentially take their posts as
OICs.
“The day after the
order came out from the Ombudsman, our legal people studied the matter, so I
wrote a letter already to Malacanang… we have expressed our concern because of
the delays it might cause on projects that need collegial decision,” he said.
The energy chief
emphasized that the tenor of his correspondence to the Palace had been anchored
on condition that “assuming the existing Commissioners will not be able to get
legal remedy or a hold order, I told them that we may need to appoint temporary
Commissioners so there will be quorum and they can attend to jobs requiring
collegial decision.”
There was also a
proposal from Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian on
naming OIC-appointees at the ERC invoking Executive Order No. 292 or the
Administrative Code of 1987, that empowers the President “to temporarily
designate a competent person or any official currently in active government
service to perform the function of an official working in the Executive Branch
who is unable to perform his duties.”
Aside from prospective
interim Commissioners that shall be ‘on-lend’ from the DOE, the others in the
prospects of industry stakeholders are those in the transition committee of the
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) whose term are expiring February this
year.
Another option being
dangled is to elevate the designation of senior ERC Directors to the Commission
level, since after all, they will be exercising their duties on the President’s
order.
But as noted by Cusi,
Malacañang is still weighing all feasible options given the legal hurdles being
thrown its way on this leadership quandary at the ERC.
Investors and other
relevant stakeholders in the power industry have already warned of
‘chilling effect’ if regulatory lag on pending cases and rule-making processes
at the Commission will persist for a longer period.
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