November 26, 2019 | 9:54 pm
AN ILOILO Regional
Trial Court has suspended the expropriation proceedings of MORE Electric and
Power Corp. (MORE) over the assets of Panay Electric Co. (PECO), the city’s
former power franchise holder.
In a three-page order
on Nov. 18, Judge Daniel Antonio Gerardo S. Amular of RTC Branch 35 ordered the
suspension, noting a pending petition for review before the Supreme Court.
MORE filed the petition
with the High Court questioning the decision of a Mandaluyong court which
declared as unconstitutional Sections 10 and 17 of Republic Act No 11212, which
had granted the company MORE franchise as distribution utility in Iloilo.
“As it now stands,
there is a pending petition for review on certiorari before the Second Division
of the Honorable Supreme Court filed by plaintiff in connection with the decision
of RTC, Mandaluyong, declaring Section 10 and 17 of Republic Act 11212 as void
and constitutional,” according to the order.
“Wherefore, foregoing
considered, the Court resolved to suspend further proceedings in this case in
the interest of judicial fairness, respect to the Honorable Supreme Court and
for practical considerations,” it added.
The court also cited
the SC, which has held that the issue of constitutionality “would be like a
prejudicial question to the expropriation as it would be a waste of time and
effort to appoint evaluation commissioners and debate the market value of the
property sought to be condemned if it turned out that the condemnation was
illegal.”
The court also denied
for lack of factual basis the motion to inhibit the judge.
PECO Administrative
Manager Marcelo U. Cacho said the company was pleased with the Iloilo court
ruling.
“We are glad that the
RTC of Iloilo has deferred to the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land.
We cannot but agree with the Honorable Judge Amular that the issue of
constitutionality of the expropriation has to be resolved first,” he said in a
statement.
The Supreme Court on
Aug. 14 denied MORE’s request for a temporary restraining order or preliminary
injunction against the Mandaluyong court decision and required PECO to comment
on the petition.
It also required Judge
Marie Yvette Go of Iloilo RTC Branch 37, in a separate notice, to comment on
the urgent motion of PECO which had stated that the judge issued an order on
Aug. 14 granting a writ of possession in favor of MORE, even though the
Mandaluyong court rendered its decision in July.
PECO supplied power to
Iloilo for 95 years and was last granted a franchise for 25 years in 1994. It
filed an application for franchise renewal in July 2017 prior to the expiration
of its legislative franchise in January. MORE was granted the franchise in February.
— Vann Marlo M. Villegas
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