Connect with us

News

CA halts suspension of 4 ERC commissioners

Published

on

FILE: The Court of Appeals (CA). (Photo by Ramon FVelasquez (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0)

FILE: The Court of Appeals (CA). (Photo by Ramon FVelasquez (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA — The Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Office of the Ombudsman’s suspension of the four Commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

In a resolution dated February 9 penned by Associate Justice Mariflor Punzalan Castillo, the CA’s 9th Division issued the 60-day TRO against the one-year suspension of ERC Commissioners Alfredo Non, Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Josefina Patricia Asirit, at Geronimo Sta. Ana.

The appeals court issued the TRO in order not to “impair public service.”

Since the suspension issued by the Ombudsman last December 11, 2017, no replacement was made by Malacanang to replace the said Commissioners.

The CA decided that grave and irreparable injury can be committed if the TRO is not issued in favor of the petitioners-Commissioners.

The TRO resolution was also signed by CA Justices Danton Bueser and Henry Inting.

The ERC commissioners were suspended after they were found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, aggravated by simple misconduct and simple neglect of duty for allegedly allowing electric utilities like Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to forgo the bidding of their power supply requirements at the public’s expense.

The case stemmed from the decision of the ERC to reset the CSP’s effectivity date from Nov 6, 2015 to April 30, 2016, exempting the power supply agreements (PSA) from undergoing transparent and public bidding ordained in the CSP.

The Ombudsman said the ERC commissioners exercised “gross inexcusable negligence” in delaying the CSP’s implementation since the process was put in place to make the PSAs’ cost more reasonable.

“Hence, accommodating companies’ request to be exempted from CSP was a deviation from respondents’ duty to promote public interest through the CSP requirement,” it said.

The Ombudsman said it was clear that the commissioners favored Meralco through the delay.

“There is sufficient evidence that respondents gave unwarranted benefits to Meralco and other companies by exempting them from the coverage of the CSP requirement, which was already in effect after 06 November 2015. The 45-day period gave MERALCO and other companies the opportunity to dispense with CSP,” it said.

In ordering the suspension, the Ombudsman said the ERC commissioners are “administratively liable for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, aggravated by simple misconduct and simple neglect of duty” based on civil service rules.

It also ruled that the ERC commissioners “cannot feign ignorance” when Meralco took advantage of the resetting the effectivity date of the competitive selection process. (PNA)

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

Entertainment13 hours ago

Max Collins, Luis Hontiveros banner “Recipes of Love’’ this Sunday

Max Collins and Luis Hontiveros are set to headline the next story of “Recipes of Love” airing this Sunday (May...

Entertainment13 hours ago

Jessica Soho honored at the Global Filipino Icon Awards

Jessica Soho – widely regarded as the Philippines’ most awarded broadcast journalist – adds another feather in her cap after being...

OpenAI OpenAI
Technology13 hours ago

What OpenAI’s deal with News Corp means for journalism (and for you)

OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, and News Corp, the international media conglomerate, have signed a deal that will let OpenAI...

emergency sign on a hospital emergency sign on a hospital
Health13 hours ago

What is a virtual emergency department? And when should you ‘visit’ one?

For many Australians the emergency department (ED) is the physical and emblematic front door to accessing urgent health-care services. But...

Canada News13 hours ago

U of T issues trespass notice to pro-Palestinian encampment

Demonstrators have now been given until Monday at 8 a.m. to leave As it said it would, the University of...

Business and Economy13 hours ago

Alcohol sales coming to Ontario corner stores by September

Accelerated plan includes $225M payment to The Beer Store from province Ontario is introducing sales of beer, wine and ready-made...

Loblaws supermarket Loblaws supermarket
Business and Economy13 hours ago

Loblaws, Sobeys owners under investigation by Competition Bureau for alleged anticompetitive conduct

Commissioner claims grocery giants’ lease agreements designed to restrict other potential tenants Canada’s Competition Bureau has launched investigations into the...

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak
News13 hours ago

Why the Conservative MPs standing down at this election are a huge electoral threat to Rishi Sunak

At the last count, 118 MPs have announced they will not contest July’s general election. The vast majority – more...

Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak
Business and Economy13 hours ago

What the economic data told Rishi Sunak about the best date for a general election

The announcement of July 4 for the UK general election took many by surprise. A key question is why it...

fighting fighting
Health14 hours ago

Does ‘whining’ really make you happier? A therapist gives his verdict

A problem shared is a problem halved. Research by Age UK shows that only 29% of adults share their worries,...

WordPress Ads