Ombudsman TRO stymies ERC job, says Devanadera
By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 03, 2018 at 08:25 pm
from manilastandard.net
Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Agnes Devanadera said the agency cannot act on the pending power supply agreements of Manila Electric Co. due to the legal cases filed against the commissioners.
“We are not acting on the seven PSAs (of Meralco) because there’s a case although you can always say… there’s no TRO,” Devanadera said.
“But out of deference, both Congress and to the Supreme Court, we have not acted on them,” she said.
The Office of the Ombudsman suspended four commissioners of the ERC for allegedly giving Meralco an undue advantage when it extended the submission of the company’s PSA applications.
The Ombudsman, acting on the complaint of several groups, imposed a one-year suspension on all four commissioners of the ERC―Josefina Patricia Asirit, Alfredo Non,Geronimo Sta. Ana and Gloria Yap-Taruc—in December.
The commissioners appealed the case to the Court of Appeals and obtained a temporary restraining order against the suspension. A new suspension on a different case, however, was imposed by the Ombudsman.
Two out of the four commissioners, namely Non and Yap-Taruc, have since retired, but Malacanang has not announced a replacement yet.
“We have not acted on any because of… we’re anticipating the action of Congress and we’re also anticipating the action of the Supreme Court. If there is none yet, we cannot resolve. Right now, the practical reason is I am the only one in the commission,” Devadandera said.
