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Friday, March 29, 2024

Far from over (2)

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"If Peco had been a private corporation, there would be no problem with the transaction."

Problems continue to hound the Panay Electric Cooperative.

The other day, the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative and the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association called on authorities to investigate reports that Peco officials bought a luxury vehicle, eventually selling it to its president shortly after the expiration of its franchise.

If Peco had been a private corporation, there would be no problem with the transaction. However, being a cooperative, its consumers also happen to be its members.

According to Halley Alcarde, general manager of WVTC, Peco officials have to justify the acquisition of the luxury car and its sale to its president and prove they have not wasted a single centavo of the consumers’ money.

The complainants allege that sometime in 2015, Peco bought a BMW 520d sedan from Asian Carmaker Corporation, which cost around P5 million.

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They noted that under Peco’s capital expenditure for October 2011 to September 2015 which was approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission, the company listed to purchase transportation equipment for five years starting in 2011 with P2,133,851 allocation; 2012 with P2,231,446; 2013 with P2,337,988; 2014 with P2,447,289 and 2015 with P2,560,476.

However, instead of acquiring five vehicles as stipulated in its capex, Luis Miguel Cacho, Pecos President and Chief Executive Officer, reportedly decided to buy just one BMW for himself instead, depriving those officials their vehicles intended for use in its official function to serve its customers efficiently.

“But since he cannot justify the purchase of BMW using Peco’s money and to hide it from its Board of Directors and to the ERC which will surely disallow this expenditure, Cacho allegedly recorded the expenditure in PECO’s book as purchase of distribution lines and hardwares,” a source revealed.

Thus, Peco’s book declared an expenditure of almost P5 million on its distribution lines and hardwares during the same year that the BMW was purchased, the source added.

Reports said that some Peco officials during that time were clamoring for an investigation, claiming that Cacho’s action was in violation of the ERC guideline that falls on “unnecessary expenses clause, let alone greed in purchasing only for himself at the expense of all the other officials,” as Peco’s capital expenditures forecasts which was approved by the ERC on its final determination covering the period of 2011 to 2015, clearly stipulates that “the forecasts are to be based on the economically efficient capital expenditure requirements to meet forecast demand over the second regulatory period.”

“Buying a BMW midsize sedan for personal use by its president cannot be considered economically efficient, but rather, an abusive use of customers’ money who will eventually pay for it through distribution rates of Peco,” they underscored.

The source added that shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11212 into law on Feb. 14, 2019 granting More Power the franchise to operate the distribution system in Iloilo City, the same law which also authorizes More Power to expropriate the distribution assets of PECO, Cacho, upon realizing the imminent take-over of the new power distributor, could have machinated the sale of the BMW to himself.

Records from the land Transportation Authority showed that on May 22, 2019, Peco sold the BMW to Luis Miguel Cacho.

 “Since Cacho was the president and CEO during that period, he just practically sold the BMW to himself, knowing fully well that the BMW is practically owned by the customers as it was charged to the customers through rates. Isn’t that a clear case of a fraudulent sale which qualifies to estafa which even a law student can confirm to be criminal in nature,” the source avers.

“Well, impossible it may seem but Cacho had apparently tricked Ilonggo consumers including his fellow officials and stockholders just to keep his hands on to the BWM,” the source says.

This writer tried to reach out to Peco and would be happy to hear its side on the matter.

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