Hooray to Iloilo City’s ‘Adopted Son’

By Herbert Vego

WE are not surprised that Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has declared the president and chief executive order of MORE Electric and Power Corp. “an adopted son of Iloilo City” through Executive Order No. 162, dated December 12, 2024

It’s because Roel Z. Castro has catapulted MORE Power into a modern distribution utility in less than five years since it took over Panay Electric Company (PECO), expanding its number of customers from 62,000 in February 2020 to 100,000 today.

The company has invested nearly three billion pesos in its 5-year modernization program that requires replacement and upgrading of facilities.

One of the “whereases” in the executive order reads:

“WHEREAS, recognizing the critical role of reliable and efficient power in driving economic activity, Mr. Castro has spearheaded initiatives to modernize the city’s electrical grid, ensuring a stable and sustainable energy supply for residents and businesses alike.”

He has only just begun as president/CEO also of Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC), which has taken over, through a joint venture,  the management of the debt-ridden Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco). The venture boasts of more than 220,000 customers.

He is also president/CEO of Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI), which recently acquired 70 percent ownership of Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI), the power distributor serving Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

All three companies, employing a total of more than 600 individuals, count on billionaire Enrique K. Razon Jr. as the principal owner.

Hence, it is hard to imagine how Sir Roel – as subordinates call him – has kept himself in good physical condition despite so much pressure, showing up in Iloilo City today, in Bacolod City tomorrow and in Tagbilaran City another day.

It is easy to imagine though why he exudes grace under pressure. As he once told us in a press briefing, “We are well-prepared, both technically and financially, to execute the rehabilitation and modernization strategy, ensuring a robust distribution system within the franchise area.”

Castro had previously held executive positions at the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Monte Oro Resources & Energy, Inc., Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC), Peakpower Energy (PEAK), and Hydro Link Projects Corp. (HLPC).

“Time management,” he told this writer when asked how he budgets his time for work on weekdays and for family in Quezon City on weekends. He also allots time for appointments with government officials and business leaders.

In fact, Castro has just been elected new president of the Iloilo Economic Development (ILED) Foundation, a 17-year-old public-private foundation tasked to attract investments to Iloilo in collaboration with the city and provincial governments.

He also serves as a director of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. and the UP Visayas Foundation, Inc.

The first time I saw him was in 2016 when he was president of Palm Concepcion Power Corporation in Concepcion, Iloilo. It’s the first coal-fired power plant in the Visayas.

Surprisingly, it’s not energy but agriculture that he had studied for. In fact, he finished an AB-Agribusiness degree from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.

Oh well, to quote the bookkeeper who ended up as the oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, “If you want to succeed, you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.”