Razon-led MORE takes over PECO assets; solon seeks Duterte mediation

By Lenie Lectura -March 2, 2020
from Business Mirror

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.