By
Lenie Lectura - March 2, 2020
RAZON-LED More
Electric and Power Corp. (MORE) finally took over the distribution assets of
Panay Electric Co. (PECO).
MORE Power President
and Chief Executive Roel Z. Castro said the Iloilo City Sheriff’s Office
implemented the writ of possession (WOP) issued by the Ilolilo City Regional
Trial Court (RTC) Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras.
The judge granted the
WOP to MORE Power under the expropriation case it filed against PECO on March
11, 2019.
Among the PECO
distribution assets that were taken over by MORE Power as of Sunday are the
following:
- Baldoza-La Paz substation (land including all machineries and improvements, buildings);
- General Luna substation (Meter Lab, Power Plant Building and Switchboard House);
- Tabuc Suba, Jaro substation (land, machinery);
- Bolilao, Mandurriao substation (land, buildings, and machinery); and
- Molo substation (land, and buildings, machinery) on Avanceña Street.
MORE assured the city’s
residential and business customers that it will ensure continuous power supply
in Iloilo City and is deploying reaction teams 24/7 to address complaints from
consumers.
“In order to ensure
continuity of services to the consumers of Iloilo City, MORE Power
troubleshooters and line teams are mobilized to provide assistance as may be
needed,” MORE Power said.
MORE Power said it is
ready to submit to the Iloilo City RTC its program for the complete takeover of
the distribution facilities in the city, including the timelines on the
transition period, accounting, turnover of records like the list of consumers,
and documents relevant to the operation of the distribution system such as the
inventory of personal properties under and inventory of real properties already
under the possession of MORE Power.
MORE Power started the
process of taking over PECO’s electricity distribution facilities after
securing the 15-year franchise from Congress in 2019. PECO’s franchise expired
on January 19, 2019 after failing to secure an extension from Congress.
Under Republic Act
11212 signed on February 14, 2019 by President Duterte, MORE Power was
authorized to take over all distribution assets and other properties whether
private or government-owned to it can distribute electricity in Iloilo City.
For the purpose of the
issuance of a Writ of Possession, RTC Branch 23 categorized PECO’s properties
into three—A, B and C.
Category A includes all
properties that PECO did not contest as “distribution assets” such as the
Baldoza, La Paz Substation and Gen. Luna, City Proper Substation, and Tabuc
Suba, Jaro Substation, among others, with a total assessed value of
P217,940,870.
Category B properties
are those the court initially found as part of the distribution assets being
listed under the PECO’s “distribution plant” in the ENergy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) record, and may be necessary for the operation of MORE Power
so that the operation may not be interrupted once the writ is implemented.
These properties include the meter lab, power plant building and switchboard house
on Gen. Luna St. in City Proper with a total assessed value at P14,792,680.
Category C refers to
properties excluded in the coverage of the writ because these are either under
the classification “general plant” or not listed under the distribution plant”
based on the ERC record. These properties include the pole stockyards in
Diversion road, Mandurriao and land set aside for future substation in Brgy.
Gen. Hughes in City Proper. The total assessed value of these assets is at
P2,252,330.
The court order
indicated that the WOP issued to MORE Power covers properties under categories
A and B.
“Let a Writ of
Possession be issued to MORE Power in order to place MORE in possession of the
enumerated properties above under categories A and B. The Sheriff of this court
or other proper officer is hereby ordered to place MORE Power in possession of
the property above the enumerated and submit a report thereof to the court,
with service of copies to the parties pursuant to Section 2 of Rule 67 of the
Rules of Court,” Judge Contreras said.
She stressed that
properties under categories B and C are the properties which the court reserves
to include in the final determination of the properties to be actually
expropriated in the expropriation proceedings.
“The court would like
to emphasize that some of the properties in Category B may not be awarded as
among the actual properties to be expropriated if the court finds that they are
not actually necessary for the realization of the purpose for which the
franchise is the granted,” the judge wrote.
The expropriation case
was first assigned to RTC Branch 37 under Judge Yvette Marie Go, who inhibited
from the case after granting MORE Power’s petition for a writ of possession.
Solon to Duterte: Intervene
This developed as Abang
Lingkod Party-list Representative Joseph Stephen Paduano called on President
Duterte to intervene in the ongoing conflict between MORE and PECO.
Paduano made the call
as he questioned the supposed bias of the Supreme Court in favor of MORE on the
issue. Paduano cited the “unusual” inhibitions by RTC judges in the
franchise-related expropriation case.
Four judges have
already inhibited from the case.
After Judge Go of RTC
Branch 37 issued a resolution for the expropriation case filed by MORE against
PECO to proceed, she suddenly inhibited herself from further acting on the
case.
Go’s court ruling
contradicted an earlier decision of the Mandaluyong RTC Branch 209 declaring RA
11212, the law which granted MORE the franchise for power distribution in
Iloilo, as “void and unconstitutional for infringing on PECO’s rights to due
process and equal protection of the law.”
Judge Daniel Antonio
Gerardo Amular took over and issued a resolution suspending the proceedings in
the expropriation case, saying that the Supreme Court had already ruled in
another case 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 of commissioners and debate the market value of the property
sought to be condemned if it turned out that the condemnation was illegal.
Amular later issued a
statement to the press stating that MORE’s lawyer asked him to inhibit from the
expropriation case.
He initially said that
he will be defying the threat and will not recuse himself, but later on decided
to give up the case anyway.
Amular’s act to recuse
from the case was followed by the inhibition of two more judges—Judge Ma.
Theresa Gaspar of RTC Branch 33 and Judge Gloria Madero of Iloilo RTC Branch
29—citing various reasons.
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