A consumer group in Iloilo City expressed disgust over two Ilonggo personalities who continue to misrepresent an SEC-registered organization to advance their self-interests and personal gains by deliberately attempting to score points in favor of PECO, the disgraced utility distributor in this southern metropolis.
Halley Alcarde, president of Koalisyon Bantay Kuryente (KBK), Inc. with SEC Registration No. CN202069462, has called on Jose Allen Aquino and Ruperto Supena to stop using KBK in their campaign to attack MORE Power, the new power distributor, “because not only are they misrepresenting our organization, they are misleading the public in telling the Manila press that their sentiment is the sentiment of the Iloilo consumers.”
“They have used KBK and its identity without permission. We did not give them that mandate,” he said, adding, “For the record, these two are not in any way connected with the KBK and cannot speak on behalf of our thousands of members.”
Aquino and Supena conducted a virtual press conference with members of the Manila media on Friday purportedly after “KBK” filed a complaint with the Energy Regulatory Commission to demand compensation from MORE Power for what they claimed were “systems loss charges”.
“Well, they can attack MORE Power all they want; they have the freedom to do that as consumers. But to mislead the public into thinking they are backed by the Iloilo community and the real KBK in their smear campaign against MORE is unforgivable.”
Alcarde said he is calling for a special meeting today of the KBK Board of Trustees to address the issue and for the organization to take a firm stand against bogus individuals who have been using the KBK to their advantage.
“We will initiate correspondence with the ERC to officially put on record that we have nothing to do with Aquino and Supena’s claims. We will also consult with our legal counsel to discuss what particular charges we can file against this pair of PECO bootlickers to stop them from further misrepresenting not only KBK but the power consumers of Iloilo City as well.
“We already have our hands full dealing with the Covid-19 virus. We should not allow other viruses to infect the minds of people and sicken them,” Alcarde said.
“Although we wish not to take sides on the issues between PECO and MORE Power, it is our common stand that Iloilo City is far better with MORE Power, especially as we see day-to-day improvements of the distribution services. Of course, there are also downsides, but we are mindful of the fact that the power anomalies and outages we are experiencing right now are a result of PECO’s severely underdeveloped distribution facilities and neglect.”
“Our association, being the legitimate representative of the Iloilo City power consumers, cannot and will not ignore these acts of misrepresentation by Aquino and Supena; they owe us and the public an explanation and an apology,” he said, adding the two were better off acknowledging the significant changes and accomplishments of MORE in just six months of operation.
“PECO was in service for 96 years and yet have nothing to show for it,” he remarked.
KBK is a coalition of various organizations including Western Visayas Transport Cooperative, Division Federated Parents-Teachers Association of Iloilo City, Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, the Church sector, the media, and the advocacy group Bawal Ang Korap.