Philippines - Cusi to ERC chief: Go on leave

Philippines - Cusi to ERC chief: Go on leave

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said yesterday it would be best for Energy
Regulatory Commission chairman Jose Vicente Salazar to take a leave pending
investigation into ERC corruption as insinuated by the agency's late
director Francisco Villa Jr. in his suicide notes.

"That is a prudent thing to do, to give way to the independent
investigation," Cusi said.

Cusi declined to comment on the next steps that could be taken since the ERC
has already asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a
probe into the death of Villa last month.

Cusi said he did not want to dip his hands further into the issue.

"What we did (was) we called for an independent investigation. Other than
that, we asked for a copy of the documents but we cannot make any conclusion
from the suicide notes. That's why we called (for) an expert to
investigate," he said.

Earlier, Salazar said they asked for a meeting with President Duterte in
light of the corruption allegations thrown against the country's power
regulator by Villa.

This would allow them to highlight the crucial role of the power regulator
in reforming the electric power industry, he said.

But during the inauguration of a power plant on Nov. 28, the President
reiterated his stance to abolish the ERC if its ranking officials would not
resign following Villa's death and accusations.

Cusi said such was the immediate reaction of the President because he was
"very much against corruption" and this formed part of his campaign
promises.

But since the ERC is created by law, the regulating body cannot be abolished
easily, he said.

The ERC is a quasi-judicial and legislative body created by the Electric
Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to determine rates, promote competition,
encourage market development, ensure consumer choice and penalize abuse of
market power in the restructured electricity industry.

"There should be a legal reconstitution on what to do. We cannot just
abolish it because there are a number of factors to be considered, including
consumers and the point of view of investors," Cusi said.

"By law, ERC should be there because they determine rates. There must be a
replacement if it will be abolished," he said.

Villa committed suicide last Nov. 9 reportedly due to pressure from
superiors to do corrupt activities.

House, Senate to probe ERC too

But congressmen-allies of Duterte threatened to cut funding for the ERC to
effectively shut it down following refusal of the agency's officials to heed
the President's demand for them to resign.

The President first warned ERC that he would ask his congressional allies to
either abolish the agency or deny funding for it while in Peru two weeks ago
for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit,

"Definitely, Congress is ready to respond to the President's call," Rep.
Jericho Nograles of party-list group Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) said.

Nograles said the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC), of which he
is a member, should convene and investigate the allegations of corruption
among top ERC officials.

"The JCPC should meet before the approval of the proposed P3.35-trillion
2017 national budget to also look into the President's wish to give the ERC
a zero budget," Nograles said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said leaders of the committees on energy of the
Senate and the House of Representatives would meet informally next week to
discuss the convening of the JCPC to tackle corruption issues in the ERC.

If the joint commission recommends it, the Senate and the House could
consider scrapping the ERC budget for next year, Nograles said.

The proposed national budget for next year is now with a bicameral
conference committee, which is chaired by Nograles' brother Karlo, House
appropriations committee chairman and representative of Davao City's first
district, and his Senate counterpart Loren Legarda.

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

Link to Original Article:
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/12/03/1649750/cusi-erc-chief-go-leave

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

John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com