Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star)
- June 22, 2020 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Energy
Regulatory Commission (ERC) is looking to transition to online transactions by
mid-July, forced by the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you look at our website, we have
already posted our rules on e-filing, public consultations. By middle of July,
we should already have our e-filing in place,” ERC chairperson and CEO
Agnes Devanadera said in a recent webinar.
By transitioning to electronic filings
and online transactions, the ERC hopes to get up to speed in its regulatory
actions.
“This is the reason why we think we
can go faster. This is the brighter side of COVID-19, we’re forced to do the
virtual meeting, consultations and the e-filings,” Devanadera said.
The ERC earlier came out with draft
guidelines which allow electronic filings and virtual hearings following
the lockdown imposed by the government due to COVID-19.
The proposed guidelines
allow and provide the ERC with a safe means to continuously perform its mandate
amidst the ongoing public health emergency.
These guidelines will cover the
filing of new quasi-judicial applications or petitions, of pleadings for cases
pending before the commission, application for certificate of compliance (COC),
retail electricity supplier’s (RES) license, meter type approval and authority
to maintain meter shops, and of consumer complaints.
It will also touch on the conduct of
virtual hearings and mediations, submission of reportorial requirements; and
sending request letters to the ERC.
The subject interim guidelines shall
be in effect for the duration of the state of public health emergency and/or
state of calamity, until and unless either or both declarations are lifted.
The ERC, however, may subsequently
adopt the guidelines on electronic filing and pre-filing, as well as the
conduct of virtual hearings and incorporate the same in its rules of practice
and procedure which is currently undergoing review and improvements.
From March 16 until the lifting of
the enhanced community quarantine, the power regulator had cancelled all
scheduled hearings and conferences as it operated on a skeletal workforce
basis.
The cancellations were “in view of
the recent pronouncement of President Duterte that work in the Executive branch
is suspended in light of the government’s aim to contain the transmission and
spread of the COVID-2019.”
Under this scheme, the ERC said all
scheduled hearings (conducted by the legal service), conferences (conducted by
consumer affairs service), pre-filing conferences (conducted by the regulatory
operations service) were cancelled until further notice.
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