‘ERC can adopt measures to enhance transparency’

By Business Mirror – September 20, 2024

Suspended Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Monalisa Dimalanta said Thursday she would push for the immediate publication of the results of deliberations on cases and petitions filed by power industry stakeholders.

Dimalanta was suspended for six months by the Office of the Ombudsman for alleged grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, and conduct prejudicial to public service. This was in relation to a complaint filed by the National Association of Electric Consumers for Reforms Inc. regarding delays in the rate reset of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

“One of my realizations from this experience is that we can improve our measures for transparency. For instance, after each commission meeting, we can already post or publish (the) action taken on each agenda item so that stakeholders will already know the movement in their cases even before the actual ruling is issued.

This is the same as what the Supreme Court is doing now in many of their cases,” she said.

After deliberation, it takes months before the commission can draft the decision, which needs to be circulated among the commissioners for their signature.

“I am the last to sign and I rarely make comments anymore because by that time it gets to me, it already has the clearance of all four commissioners,” she said. However, Dimalanta’s proposal must be approved by the commission en banc.

She said during the Pandesal Forum at the Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City that the grounds for her suspension are “moot,” considering that the 5-man collegial body had already decided on the matter raised in the complaint filed against her.

However, contrary to accusations of inaction, Dimalanta said the ERC had already decided to dismiss the rate application and “consider the fifth regulatory period as a lapsed period.” This means that Meralco’s rate will remain unchanged until the end of the said period.

The ERC made its decision last August 21, days before the Ombudsman’s order which was dated August 27.

Dimalanta further clarified that she was one of two dissenters who opined that the rate reset of Meralco should be reviewed and settled before the sixth regulatory period.