Published
July 15, 2018, 10:00 PM By Myrna M. Velasco
It will be a tough
competition for those eyeing the commissioner posts at the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) as 17 candidates are reportedly in the “shortlist” of
Malacañang as of last week.
As of this writing, a
highly placed source indicated that new appointments at the Commission are
targeted to be released “on or before the end of this month,” although it was
noted that the current shortlist may still expand.
The two new
Commissioners will be taking the slots vacated by former Commissioners Alfredo
J. Non and Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc who retired just last week (July 10).
The two ERC officials
unfortunately bowed out from office with a controversy on a three-month
suspension order purportedly inflicting penalty on previous Commission
decisions on the commingling of bill deposits of power utility giant Manila
Electric Company.
It has been widely
talked about in the power industry that Davao-based lawyer Alexis Lumbatan is
one of the ERC post contenders; while the second slot has been reportedly
“committed” to a business group that had been a major supporter to President
Duterte’s campaign.
“Most of the ERC
candidates are lawyers,” according to a Palace source; and the industry’s guess
is for the Commission to be filled again with appointments coming from the
legal field.
On the recent
retirements of Non and Yap-Taruc, ERC Chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera noted
that she was saddened by that development as she considers these two officials
source of “invaluable wisdom and insights” especially when she started her
stint at the regulatory body last year.
The ERC chief added “my
transition period could not have been manageable without their help.” Non and
Yap-Taruc served the ERC for seven years – through all the controversies, legal
suits and very few instances of appreciated work and outcomes.
To Devanadera, the two
former Commissioners “served the ERC well and their dedication and diligence is
without question,” noting further that their contribution to the ERC in terms
of pro-consumer policies and decisions “will make its mark and should be
emulated and carried on.”
In the coming weeks or
months, it is also worth following up if the Commission will have another
vacancy – with the reported resignation plan of one of its sitting
Commissioners.
When that happens, it
will only be Commissioner Josefina Patricia B. Asirit who will be staying put –
among all the previous administration’s appointees, as Devanadera herself has
already been designated to the ERC under the Duterte regime.
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