Philippines: Alvarez seeks ERC abolition

Philippines: Alvarez seeks ERC abolition

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has filed a bill seeking to abolish the Energy
Regulatory Commission (ERC) following allegations of corruption among its
officials.

Alvarez said the suspicions raised against the integrity of the ERC could
not be ignored.

The agency is tasked to regulate the country's power industry and promote
competition in the market.

Alvarez cited reports on the suicide of ERC director Francisco Jose Villa
Jr., who left a note alleging shady deals and irregular practices in the
ERC.

He proposed the abolition of the ERC and replacing it with the Board of
Energy, which will be an attached agency of the Department of Energy (DOE).

"This will ensure that the newly created board will be within the regulatory
arm of the government and direct control and supervision of the President,"
he said.

Alvarez's House Bill 5020 provides that the Board of Energy will perform the
functions of the ERC.

The board will be under the supervision and control of the DOE and composed
of a chairman and two members to be appointed by the President upon
recommendation of the energy secretary.

To ensure no conflict of interests, the bill prohibits the chairman and
members of the board or any of their relatives from holding any interest
whatsoever in any company or entity engaged in the energy business.

If they have involvement in the energy business, they are required to divest
all their interests in the energy sector upon assumption of office.

The bill also prohibits the appointment to the board of any person who has
worked within three years immediately prior to the appointment, or is
working in any private firm engaged in the petroleum or electric industry or
any other entity whose main business is related to or connected with any
such firm.

During the transition period, the ERC and its existing personnel should
continue to exercise their powers and functions.

In filling the positions of the new board, preference shall be given to ERC
personnel.

Meanwhile, Alvarez joined calls to investigate the alleged corruption in the
ERC by filing House Resolution 776.

He said that while the ERC is tasked to regulate the country's power
industry, continuous price hikes raised suspicions of collusion and
corruption in the agency.

He said such suspicions were bolstered by Villa's suicide.

"In his suicide note, Villa claimed that his superiors exerted pressure upon
his person to approve contracts that disregard the proper regulatory
procedures," Alvarez said.

He urged the House to direct the committee on energy to conduct the
investigation in aid of legislation.

During the joint investigation conducted last Feb. 8 by the House committees
on good government and energy, four commissioners bared a "cloud of mistrust
and fear" hanging over the agency amid the allegations that Villa had
raised.

The Villa suicide also prompted Duterte to call for the resignation of all
ERC commissioners.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Link to Original Article:
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/02/17/1673002/alvarez-seeks-erc-aboli
tion

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com