Business Mirror
Published on Thursday, 13 June 2013 19:41 Written by Manly M. Ugalde / Correspondent
LEGAZPI CITY—A multisectoral group based in Albay threatened to sue the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) interim board it created for mishandling the P126 million the two entities sourced from an arbitrary-payment scheme called Special Payment Agreement (SPA) that they forced Aleco’s 200,000 customers to pay.
The Aleco Multisectoral Stakeholders Organization Inc. (AMSOI) said the money came from the 10 percent inserted in consumers’ electric bills from February 2011 to present. The SPA is set to expire in December 2014.
The majority of the consumers were not aware of the collection scheme.
This developed after the Philippine Electric Market Corp. (PEMC) wrote that the NEA-controlled Aleco had not paid PEMC to reduce Aleco’s obligations of close to P1.3 billion in unpaid electricity bills.
In a letter dated May 24 signed by PEMC President Melinda L. Ocampo and sent to the AMSOI, Ocampo said Aleco had been paying PEMC interests only on its obligations. The PEMC letter was in response to the AMSOI’s query as to the amount of payment made by Aleco for its electricity obligations coming from SPA collections.
The SPA was hatched in February 2011 specifically to use the collection as payment for the P1.3 billion in unpaid electricity bills with the PEMC.
The Aleco Employees Union and AMSOI are also protesting the plan of the NEA and Aleco to privatize the electric cooperative. NEA and Aleco are temporarily barred by a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the regional trial court to proceed with the privatization of the cooperative.
The complaint said the NEA could not privatize Aleco because the resolution calling for the cooperative’s privatization was illegal since the board that passed it was interim and not elected by consumers. Besides, the proposed privatization plan was rejected by consumers during a November 30, 2012, special general assembly, said lawyer Bartolome Rayco, AMSOI president.
Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said Aleco has a standing debt of close to P4 billion.
Aleco, the country’s third biggest power cooperative and touted as among the 10 worst cooperatives, was placed under the NEA management control in February 2011 in what Salceda called was an effort to save Aleco from certain collapse. Aleco has an average 24-percent system loss for the past 30 years.
When it took over the management of Aleco, the NEA sought the resignation of the consumer-elected Aleco board, put up the Aleco Crisis Management Committee (CMC) headed by Legazpi Diocese Bishop Joel Baylon. A year later, the NEA abolished the CMC and replaced it with an appointed eight-man team headed by Bishop Baylon as chairman.
Against the efforts of the Aleco Employees Union and AMSOI on April 15, the Aleco interim board conducted a pre-bid conference to sell Aleco. Baylon and NEA designated Aleco Project Supervisor Veronica Briones said that putting Aleco under private management and control was the best solution.
Baylon debunked the claim that Aleco would be privatized, saying what had been approved by the committee was for a concessioner to handle the entire management and maintenance of the ailing cooperative dubbed as Private Sector Participation (PSP).
At least four interested buyers have joined the pre-bid conference. Baylon identified the three big firms as the San Miguel Corp., Aboitiz Group and the Lopez Group.
Rayco had sought a TRO for NEA and Aleco to stop the sale which the Branch 2 of the RTC granted for 20 days on May 20. The complaint includes a writ of prohibition restraining the Aleco board to proceed with the privatization.
RTC Judge Ignacio Almodovar Jr. said the TRO had lapsed on June 9 and the hearing for temporary injunction continues as the Aleco board also asked for the dismissal of the complaint.
Rayco said an order from the court said that pending resolution of the complaint, the Aleco board could not proceed with the bidding for the privatization.
Ephraim de Vera, a programmer employee of Aleco and member of the Aleco Employees Union said the consumer-rejected SPA was able to collect P126 million since 2011, quoting NEA Project Supervisor Briones.
De Vera said despite of the rejection of consumers, however, Aleco continues to include SPA in the monthly billing. source
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