SC rules in favor of MORE as new Iloilo distributor
By Alena Mae S. Flores – December 05, 2019 at 07:30 pm
from manilastandard.net
The Supreme Court overruled a lower court that earlier declared the franchise of MORE Electric and Power Corp. of businessman Enrique Razon as unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court en banc issued a temporary restraining order on Dec. 3 against Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 209 and current distributor Panay Electric Co. from enforcing the ruling of the lower court declaring unconstitutional the franchise of MORE as the new power distributor in Iloilo City.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11212 in February granting MORE the franchise to operate the distribution system of Iloilo City after PECO’s franchise expired in January.
The Mandaluyong Court on July 1, 2019 declared as unconstitutional Sections 10 and 17 of RA 11212 and issued a TRO on March 14, 2019.
MORE president Roel Castro welcomed the SC’s issuance of the TRO against the Mandaluyong RTC, which PECO had used to stop the new Iloilo City distribution utility from acquiring its distribution assets.
Castro said the SC’s unanimous decision to restrain the Mandaluyong RTC showed that the high court found that “MORE Power has a clear and unmistakable right to be protected, there is material and substantial invasion of such right, there is an urgent need for the writ to prevent irreparable injury to MORE Power, and no other ordinary, speedy and adequate remedy exists to prevent the infliction of irreparable injury other than the issuance of said temporary restraining order.”
RA 11212 gave MORE the congressional franchise to operate as electricity distribution utility for the next 25 years, the authority to exercise the power of eminent domain “and acquire such private property as is actually necessary for the realization of the purpose for which the franchise is granted (Section 10)”. With Rey E. Requejo
Castro said that as PECO had monopolized the distribution of electricity in Iloilo City for 95 years, RA 11212 referred clearly to PECO’s distribution assets.
PECO tried to stop the takeover of its distribution assets by MORE when it petitioned the Mandaluyong RTC to declare the power to expropriate granted to MORE under RA 11212 as unconstitutional “for infringing on PECO’s rights to due process and equal protection of the law.”
MORE, in the meantime, exercised the power of eminent domain when it filed a petition with the Iloilo City Regional Trial Court to buy PECO’s distribution assets for about P500 million.
The writ of possession issued by Iloilo City RTC Judge Yvette Go was questioned by PECO with the Supreme Court following the July 1 decision of the Mandaluyong RTC.
PECO asked the Court of Appeals to stop the Iloilo City RTC from continuing with the expropriation proceedings, while MORE went to the SC with a petition to invalidate the Mandaluyong RTC’s judgment.
The CA eventually ruled on Oct. 3 that it had no jurisdiction over the case as Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act gave the Supreme Court exclusive power over any legal issues against all distribution utilities.
Despite ruling that it had no jurisdiction over the case, the CA’s 11th Division said it found PECO’s petition against MORE baseless as the SC had ruled many times in the past upholding the constitutionality of EPIRA and the power of eminent domain granted to all distribution utilities.
