JVA plebiscite to push through sans TRO, Ceneco GM says

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) general manager Atty. Arnel Lapore said that the scheduled plebiscite on the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) the distribution utility signed with Prime Electric Holdings Inc., will push through if the court will not issue a Temporary Restraining Order.

Lapore issued this statement after consumer advocates Rommel Pido, Aaron Sorbito, and former Rep. Pete Pico, representing the Negros Consumers Watch and Anti-Ceneco JVA Coalition, along with legal counsels Atty. Wax Apawan and Atty. Rey Gorgonio, filed on Friday a Declaratory Relief and Declaration of Nullity against the JVA between Prime Electric and Ceneco.

The filing also included an application for the issuance of a Preliminary Injunction and a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO).

The petitioners claimed that the JVA is disadvantageous to the consumers as it will lead to the privatization of Ceneco and job loss to its employees.

Lapore said if there is no TRO, the plebiscite scheduled on June 24-25, 2023, and July 1-2, 2023 will push through as scheduled.

Named respondents were MORE Power president and CEO Roel Castro and Ceneco directors Jojit Yap, Ariel Guides, Eugenio Velasco, Antonio Panique, Dwight Carbon, Noel Alarcon, and Nicanor Jison.

MORE Power and Prime Electric are sister companies under the group of billionaire Enrique Razon.

Castro welcomed the case.

“Let the court decide,” he said.

Castro further said that they do not consider the case a discouragement.

“But as long as there is no court order, we will continue to prepare for the plebiscite and conduct information and education campaigns (IEC) together with Ceneco,” he said.

Ceneco and Prime Electric Holdings, Inc./Negros Electric Power Corp (NEPC) signed JVA on June 3 with the objective to improve power distribution service within Ceneco’s franchise area.

CENECO has 210,000 member-consumer-owners in the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Bago, and the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto in the province of Negros Occidental.

The JVA needs the nod of the majority (50 percent plus 1) of Ceneco consumers for it to be ratified.

Lapore said Ceneco can no longer cope with its system loss amounting to P20 million a month.

He stressed that the JVA “is a needed shot in the arm of the bleeding Ceneco.”