THE NATIONAL Electrification Administration (NEA), as a regulatory agency, has sufficient authority and power to closely supervise and monitor all electric cooperatives (ECs) operating in the country, a high-ranking official said on Wednesday.
During a House hearing on the NEA Board of Administrators’ (BOA) alleged overreach on the appointment of electric cooperatives’ general managers, NEA Deputy Administrator for Legal Services Rossan Rosero-Lee said electric cooperatives are subject to the police power of the State as they are holders of legislative franchises and their business is imbued with public interest.
“Electric cooperatives, being imbued with public interests, entail the necessity of State intervention,” she said.
Rosero-Lee noted that Republic Act 10351 is a valid exercise of the State's police power as it aims to strengthen NEA as the government’s regulatory arm.
She said to perform such a mandate of total electrification in the country, it is vital for the NEA to exercise some degree of supervision and control over the operations of all ECs.
“The vast powers granted to NEA is (sic) perfectly understandable considering that the NEA is mandated to perform the daunting task of bringing electricity through the electric cooperatives to the countryside,” she said.
House Committee on Energy resolution, meanwhile, read: "NEA Board of Administrators have absolutely no power to select and appoint the general manager or the power to designate a ‘probable appointee’ for the position of general manager of the Benguet Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BENECO)."
Rosero-Lee said NEA Memorandum 2017-035, which pertains to the selection, hiring, and termination of services, suspension for the general managers of electric cooperatives, is a valid application of the police power over ECs as granted to NEA.
“Thus to ensure the able compliance and successful response by the ECs to all these new challenges, the EC general manager must be highly qualified, competent, and dedicated to spearheading all efforts towards the attainment of targeted results,” she added.
The memorandum, she said, provides a uniform set of standards for the selection, hiring, and termination of services, suspension of a general manager to promote transparency and prevent complications that may arise from the conduct of some procedures.
The House Committee on Energy was tackling House Resolution (HR) 1776, which questions the NEA BOA’s endorsement of Anna Marie Banaag Rafael, a lawyer and Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), as general manager of BENECO over Melchor Licoben, the cooperative’s acting manager.
The NEA Board Resolution No. 2021-47 approved the endorsement of Banaag as a “candidate with the higher score in the final interview.” Licoben scored 82.75 percent while Rafael garnered 94 percent. ( Filane Mikee Cervantes)
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