Let the Supreme Court decide

By Herbert Vego

 

OUR colleague Luis Buenaflor played manghuhula when he posted on Facebook the date when the Supreme Court (SC) would release its decision on the constitutionality of the law (RA 11212) awarding the new 25-year franchise to MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power). When nga ba, Louie?

Oh, oh, I would rather not put Louie on the spot; anybody could make a guess. Suffice it to say that, whatever it is, the SC decision on the petition of MORE Power to uphold the constitutionality of the aforesaid law would settle the legal war between the past and present distribution utilities.

“Let the Supreme Court decide,” goes PECO’s battle cry behind its insistence on getting the final verdict.

In a previous column, we called the chances of  Panay Electric Co. (PECO) grabbing back the power-distribution business in Iloilo City “flimsy” because the SC itself had restrained the Mandaluyong City regional trial court (RTC) from enforcing its decision declaring MORE Power’s congressional franchise unconstitutional.

That SC intervention was necessary. Otherwise, the Mandaluyong RTC could have collided with the Iloilo RTC (Branch 23), where Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras, in granting the writ of possession to MORE Power,  reasoned out that “RA 11212 continues to be operative under the doctrine of presumption of constitutionality of the laws.”

The Manila-based lawyers of PECO – pitted against Ilonggo lawyer Hector Teodosio – had always emboldened their client to prolong its uphill agony — until the SC makes the final decision.

What are lawyers for if they could not instill “fighting spirit” against all odds?

The odds are really stacked against PECO because they lack all the tools to grab back its former territory. Its legislative franchise has expired. So, too, has its provisional certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Barring unforeseen circumstances, PECO would have to wait for the expiration of MORE’s 25-year franchise before re-applying for its own.

Expropriating a spent force (PECO) in favor of a new player (MORE Power) is anchored on the “right of eminent domain” or the power of the government to expropriate a utility or to delegate that power to a private group.

Section 10 of RA 11212 says, “The grantee may acquire such private property  as is actually necessary for the realization of the purposes for which this franchise is granted, including but not limited to poles, wires, cables, transformers.”

The same provision commands the successor to pay a “just compensation” to be decided by a court of law. Meanwhile, MORE Power has offered to pay PECO P482 million for its power lines, substations, poles, feeders, transformers, and other facilities.

It is well-settled in expropriation proceedings that whenever vendor and vendee do not agree, the government may step in to rule on “fair market value,” probably through the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

In other words, the two companies would mutually benefit from the deal. In fact, MORE Power has painstakingly assessed the monetary value of the viable properties, for which it is ready to pay.

So why not let the new player prove its worth? Otherwise, PECO would appear insatiable despite having already amassed billions of pesos in profits from 96 long years of monopolizing power distribution all over Iloilo City. The Cacho family that runs PECO must have forgotten that its franchise was not “forever”; that its renewal or non-renewal by Congress could be influenced by a worthier competitor.

As to whether it has satisfied its 65,000 customers nowadays, the House committee on legislative franchises disagreed. Otherwise, the latter would have renewed its franchise instead of passing it to MORE Power.

It is now MORE Power’s turn to make the most of the taken-over facilities, which unfortunately are in their wearing-out stage.  How?

When we asked its president and chief executive officer, Roel Z. Castro about it, he said, “We are replacing obsolete equipment and rolling out new infrastructure within our three-year modernization period.”

As regards the questioned “lack of experience” of his people, Castro said he had hired PECO’s experienced former technical crew in line with a provision on eminent domain mandating MORE Power to absorb PECO employees.

Well then, let the Supreme Court decide.

-oOo-

KUDOS to Iloilo City Councilor Jose Efraim “Jay” Treñas III for sponsoring an ordinance aimed at reopening the Iloilo River Esplanade to bicycle riders, requiring safe shared space between them and the pedestrians.

Mayor Jerry Treñas, the councilor’s uncle who is in full support for the project, recently announced that Boysen Paints had agreed to donate paint and paint the bike lanes, .

“With the proper rules in place, we will reopen the longest linear park in the country [8.1 kilometers] as a venue for bike enthusiasts,” the councilor said.

The Esplanade had initially accommodated bikers, but safety concerns had compelled the city government to ban them from the Esplanade.

Jay Treñas’ Ordinance 2014-193 requires government and non-government buildings with existing parking spaces to provide a safe bicycle parking zone.

The ordinance requires cyclists to wear proper cycling gear like helmets when in the vicinity of the park, the installation of bike racks, bells and blinkers.

(E-mail hvego31@gmail.com)