A joint panel in the House of Representatives has tackled a measure filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez seeking to abolish the Energy Regulatory Commission and have it replaced with a Board of Energy as an attached unit of the Department of Energy.
The joint committees on government reorganization and energy deliberated on House Bill 5020 in the wake of controversies of alleged corruption hounding the ERC.
At a congressional hearing, ERC chairperson and chief executive officer lawyer Agnes Devanadera echoed Alvarez’ view on the need to create a system of effective accountability and ensure the protection of the interests of the government and the public.
Alvarez said his proposal will ensure the new Board of Energy shall function as the regulatory arm of the government and, specifically, within the direct control and supervision of the President.
The bill provides for the creation of a quasi-judicial regulatory body to be named as the BoE. The Board shall be under the control and supervision of the DoE, and shall compose of a chairperson and two members to be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Energy.
The Board shall compose of technical and supportive staff—as the chairperson—may appoint for effective, efficient, and economical discharge of its powers and functions. The existing ERC shall hereby be abolished, and the Board shall hereby perform the functions of the ERC as provided in the proposed Act.
In filing the bill, Alvarez questioned the integrity of the ERC following the mysterious death of ERC Director Francisco Jose Villa Jr.
Villa committed suicide last November 9, leaving behind letters which exposed alleged anomalies and irregularities within the agency.
Reports said Villa was pressured to sign anomalous transactions which he refused.
The ERC was created under Republic Act 9316, otherwise known as the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.” It is mandated to regulate the electric industry, promote competition in the electricity market, and protect power consumers from the high costs of electricity.
Prior to Villa’s suicide, President Rodrigo Duterte sacked ERC chairperson Jose Vicente Salazar on October 2017 when the Ombudsman found him guilty of administrative offenses, for allegedly manipulating the procurement of small ERC contracts. The Ombudsman likewise required him to pay a fine equivalent to six months’ salary.
The President on November 22, 2017 replaced Salazar with Devanadera with a term of up to July 10, 2022.
Another controversy hit ERC in December last year when the Ombudsman ordered the one-year suspension of all four commissioners of the ERC for allowing electric utilities like Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to forgo the bidding of their power supply requirements at the public’s expense.
Suspended were Commissioners Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Alfredo Non, Josefina Patricia Magpala-Asirit and Geronimo Sta. Ana, who were all found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, aggravated by simple misconduct and simple neglect of duty.