Officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission were being asked to explain by Malacañang following complaints that they were allegedly receiving money to fund luxurious junkets abroad, a Palace official said Friday.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that the Office of the Executive Secretary are currently conducting a probe on the “extravagant trips allegedly made by ERC officials, being presidential appointees,” after being slapped with graft, indirect bribery, and technical malversation before the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a letter dated Aug. 18, deputy executive secretary for Legal Affairs Ryan Acosta asked ERC commissioners Alfredo Non, Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Josefina Asirit, Geronimo Sta. Ana, and director Debora Anastacia Layugan to explain their alleged lavish trips abroad, giving them 10 days to comment on the accusations
The officials were likewise accused of committing “serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and grave misconduct,” following a complaint lodged by the United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) led by its president, Rodolfo Javellana Jr.
The UFCC earlier accused ERC officials of using funds from the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation, which operates the wholesale electricIty spot market (WESM), to finance their trips abroad.