Nasecore asks Cusi to fire NEA’s chief

By Lenie Lectura - February 17, 2020

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/02/17/nasecore-asks-cusi-to-fire-neas-chief/

THE National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) strongly urged Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi to recommend the immediate removal of National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong for grave abuse of authority and, consequently, file the necessary cases against the latter.

“In the public interest and in the interest of justice, we seek your immediate intervention as the ex-officio chairman of NEA,” said Nasecore Executive Director Raffy Acebedo in his letter to Cusi dated February 10, 2020.

Nasecore’s allegation stemmed from Masongsong’s issuance of Memorandum  2018-003 dated January 17, 2018, which extends the retirement age of electric cooperative (EC) general managers from 60 to 65, and NEA Memorandum 2019-008 dated January 24, 2019, which revised their salary scale.

Acebedo said the memoranda were not approved by the NEA Board. “Said issuances are beyond the power and authority of the NEA Administrator and therefore, a usurpation of authority and violation of PD 269 as the power of policy making resides exclusively with the NEA Board,” he added.

Acebedo also questioned the timing of the issuance of the January 2019 memorandum, four months before the May 2019 elections.

“Could this have been an inducement for the management of the ECs to support the electoral campaign of four Party-Lists, where all the nominees-turned-congressmen are former, if not still the current, president and general managers of electric cooperatives?” the Nasecore official wondered aloud.

The memorandum that increased the salaries of general managers is “also prejudicial and inequitable” to the EC member-consumer-owners as the salary scales are grossly out of proportion to the market share of the ECs in the power industry in terms of its combined revenues.

In the letter, Nasecore said that under the NEA memo that increased the salaries of EC GMs, the average monthly salary scale of EC GMs is P194,125.00/month. If multiplied by 121 ECs, the said average monthly EC-GM salary will result in the total average salary of P 23,489,125.00 per month.

Compared with the salary of the president of the largest distribution utility, Meralco, which is approximately P2 million per month, the combined salary of the 121 EC-GMs of P23.295 million is “grossly and unconscionably high in proportion to their monthly consolidated revenues. This is clearly prejudicial to the EC-member-consumer-owners.”

The Nasecore letter also cited NEA Administrator Masongsong for grave abuse of authority because, they said, he has no authority fixing the salaries and retirement benefits of EC-GMs. These matters are outside the operation and internal administrative functions of the NEA administrator and also because EC-GMs are not subordinate officers of the NEA, added Nasecore.

“The issuance of said memorandum is tantamount to a usurpation of authority and violation of PD 269, which vests all the powers in making and setting policies, plans, programs, rules and regulations, on the NEA Board,” he said.

The letter also urged Cusi to review all memorandums and policies issued by Masongsong and file the necessary cases against the NEA Administrator for violation of the law.

Masongsong denies allegations

In a text message, Masongsong denied NEA’s allegations.

“Walang katotohanan ang aku-sasyon dahil ang NEA ay tagapatupad lamang ng mga aprubadong polisiya ng Board of Administrator na kung saan ang DOE secretary ay siyang Chairman. Kung hindi siya maka-attend, meron siyang Alternate Chair formerly in the person of Usec Fuentebella and currently Usec Juaneza [There’s no basis for NEA accusations because the NEA is only the implementor of the approved policies of the Board of Administrators, where the DOE Secretary sits as chairman. If he cannot attend, he has an alternate chairman—formerly Usec Fuentebella and now Usec Juaneza],” he said.