The lady commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Board are unfazed by the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to step down following the suicide of an ERC director.
A series of letters addressed to God written by the late director Francisco Villa Jr. has plunged ERC into a crisis. Villa intimated in one of the letters that he was under pressure from ERC Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar to approve a contract to produce an infomercial material for the agency.
The allegation opened the door for accusations of corruption in the ERC, prompting Duterte to call on Salazar and his four commissioners to vacate their posts.
Salazar, very much aware of the sensitiveness of the Villa’s death, said he would wait for the results of the investigation and seek a meeting with the President to give him a “clearer picture.” Salazar has gone on leave beginning December.
But ERC lady commissioners Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc and Josefina Patricia Asirit stood up to Duterte and rejected his call for resignation. Yap-Taruc and Asirit in a televised press conference declared that the President could not ask them to resign nor fire them because of a law that gave them a fixed term, or security of tenure. Commissioner Alfredo Non joined the two in the press conference, while commissioner Geronimo Sta. Ana was not present.
Yap-Taruc and Asirit earned plaudits from the power sector for standing up to Duterte. The two were both appointed to the ERC post by former President Benigno Aquino III. Yap-Taruc is reportedly a classmate of Aquino at the Ateneo de Manila.
Non is also closely identified with Aquino, while Asirit’s maiden name is Magpale. She is the niece of one of Aquino’s closest advisers, former Energy Secretary and now Ayala power business czar Rene Magpale Almendras.
Industry observers noted that if Duterte kept the pressure on the ERC commissioners to resign, Yap-Taruc and Magpale- Asirit would be the “last men standing.” The two lawyers know that they have the Electric Power Industry Reform Act backing them in a possible stand-off with Duterte.
Yap-Taruc and Magpale-Asirit were both in Aquino’s short list of nominees to replace then retiring ERC Chairman Zenaida Ducut. Salazar, also a lawyer, however, edged out the two in the race for the chairmanship post because of his electrical engineering degree.
Probe and reforms
Salazar is now under probe by the Commission on Audit upon his own request. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has also asked the National Bureau of Investigation to help in the investigation to speed up the process. Cusi reportedly wants the probes done fast so he can get the ERC to pursue reforms in the power sector as promised by Duterte.
The object of the ongoing investigation is the P300,000 audio-visual production for the ERC infomercial.
Power industry observers and players alike are wondering if Salazar can survive the controversy, especially that his “accuser” is a deceased underling who can no longer be made to explain his allegations. Salazar has been put on a tight spot by the axiom that “dead men tell no tales.”
The late Villa, unfortunately, did not provide much detail on his allegation against Salazar. He cited the audio-visual project and Salazar’s pressure merely in passing. Most of Villa’s suicide letters were devoted to sharing his innermost emotional struggles and an ongoing battle with an illness which he did not disclose.
Villa, a hardworking civil servant and devoted family man, reportedly was torn between retiring early and staying on to serve the ERC. He also worried an early retirement could clip his ability to provide for his loved ones.
Salazar must be finding the situation ironic since Villa was reportedly his choice for the position of head of ERC’s bids and awards committee.
Salazar’s woes have been made worse by allegations made by some political groups that Villa’s death may have something to do with anomalies at the ERC involving big industry players.
Already, two party list groups headed by Bernadette Herrera-Dy and Satur Ocampo have called for investigations to find out if Villa’s death might also be related to pressure to approve power supply contracts entered into by companies among themselves.
Ocampo alluded to alleged “midnight deals” with the ERC. Salazar had denied the allegation, pointing out that Villa’s job as bidding committee head was limited to the procurement of office supplies, equipment and services.
The clarification has not eased the pressure on Salazar. The House Committee on Energy chaired by Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, son of SC Justice Presbiterio Velasco Jr., is bent on doing its own inquiry into the mess now facing the ERC.
If the committee pursues the inquiry, Salazar will face added pressure to give up his post. Neither Yap-Taruc nor Asirit would stand a chance to win the top ERC post. Their political association with the Aquino poses a major disadvantage. Among the four commissioners, only Non has connections with the Duterte administration, despite his strong links with former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.
E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or business@thestandard.com.ph or extrastory2000@gmail.com