Electric coops want NEA to take control of Daneco

By Reuel John F. Lumawag

Sunday, October 6, 2013

THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) is described to be the most viable agency to take over the management of Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) over the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

Speaking in last week's edition of I-Talk at Seda Hotel, Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative (Amreco) president Sergio C. Dagooc said that one of the advantages if NEA takes over Daneco is that they can perform a yearly audit of the electric coop.

He added that with NEA, being a quasi judicial entity, it can suspend or remove any officer that is caught of having anomalous transactions within the electric coop.

"They are also able to appoint an acting manager or officer if ever they remove someone in the post, but if Daneco is under the CDA, there will be no such policy," said Dagooc.

If placed under CDA, Dagooc also said that the government has no control over their operations because under the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008, the principle of subsidiary is being applied.

"The mortality rate of electric cooperatives under the CDA is quite high. Only a few lasts for a long time. Of the two electric cooperatives under the CDA that I have stayed with, both have shut down," said Dagooc.

He added that as of 1979, NEA has proven its capability to manage an electric cooperative with some 120 members.

Last August 22, during the Daneco-DOE dialogue held at Waterfront Insular Hotel, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla mandated that the Daneco-NEA will be the recognized management of Daneco starting August 31 until the referendum set in January 2014.

Aside from that, Petilla also ordered an immediate accounting and auditing for both parties to know who to account for the payables and to prepare for the referendum in 2014.

This was decided upon after Daneco incurred a debt of roughly P600 million as of August based on the presentation of Petilla.

Without the dialogue and when there are two factions running the cooperative, Daneco may incur a debt of P100 million a month.   source