The Office of the Ombudsman has lifted the preventive suspension order issued against Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chair Monalisa Dimalanta.
In a memorandum on Wednesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin ordered the immediate reinstatement of Dimalanta as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ERC, citing the Ombudsman decision.
Dimalanta was placed under a six-month suspension without pay last September to avoid prejudicing the case filed against her by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc (Nasecore).
In its complaint, Nasecore claimed that Dimalanta allowed the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to purchase electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and pass the charges on to consumers without obtaining the necessary approval from the ERC, allegedly in violation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).
The Ombudsman, in its Oct. 22 order, said that “after a thorough evaluation of the present case records, this Office finds that the ground which justifies the continued imposition of preventive suspension no longer exists. Therefore, preventive suspension is no longer necessary.”
Meanwhile, the ERC said it welcomes the decision of the Ombudsman to lift the preventive suspension order against Dimalanta.
It said in a statement the Ombudsman’s decision would ensure the stability within the agency and the energy industry as a whole.
“The commission also extends its gratitude to officer-in-charge Jesse Hermogenes Andres whose brief stint helped steer the agency through a critical period,” the ERC said.
“With chairperson Dimalanta’s return, the ERC continues its commitment to fulfilling its mandate as the country’s energy regulator,” it said.
“The commission likewise assures that all operations of the commission will remain unhampered and will continue to function to the extent possible and as required by the exigencies of service,” the ERC said. Alena Mae Flores
