No way for ILECO 1 to comply

By Herbert Vego

I have yet to hear an employee of Iloilo 1 Electric Cooperative (ILECO 1) hold on to the assurance of First District Rep. Janette Garin that she would withdraw her House Bill 6292 in exchange for cutting its residential rate by at least two pesos.

Her bill provides for the grant of legislative franchise to More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) to energize the first district of Iloilo. Her district includes the municipalities of Igbaras, Tubungan, Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Miag-ao and San Joaquin.

Most or around 85,000 customers of ILECO 1 reside in these places

Assuming that ILECO 1 still charges residential consumers PHP 11.39 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), could it comply with Garin’s request to lash it down to PHP 9.39/kWh?

No way. No less than Atty. Salvador Cabaluna, secretary of the ILECO 1 board of directors, has pooh-poohed price cuts as a losing proposition. It’s only in the dama game “pierdegana” where the loser wins.

Engr. GC June Garanchon, the cooperative’s technical services manager, once said on a radio interview that they are ready for competition with MORE Power if and when the latter wins a 25-year franchise.

A news item by Perla Lena of the Philippine News Agency quoted Garin as having said in a press conference that ILECO 1 general manager Miguel Paguntalan Jr. and board president Grace Laarni Custodio were “never serious” in their discussions to lower their rates.

Methinks, however, that these two just don’t have the guts to openly dispute the congresswoman to whom they owe their positions.  Custodio is a cousin-in-law of her husband, Miag-ao Mayor Richard Garin.

It was due to the influence of the Garins that Paguntalan earned his appointment as ILECO 1 general manager, succeeding Engr. Wilfred Billena in 2018.

I remember that when the National Electrification Administration (NEA) searched for applicants to replace GM Billena, there were initially only three applicants who passed its series of elimination exams and interviews in Quezon City, one of whom was Leopoldo Moragas, a retired senior assistant vice president of the Philippine National Bank.

It baffled me that it was somebody else who filled the vacancy.

This time, it baffles me that the congresswoman now seems to be working against the interest of her ILECO 1 family. There must be a reason that is better left to the imagination.

As it already is, ILECO 1 has started its uphill competition with MORE Power because of its expanded franchise from Iloilo City to Passi City and 15 municipalities under the law (RA 11918).

These 15 which are already being serviced by ILECO 1 are Alimodian, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Enrique, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga.

It goes without saying that the cooperative is bound to lose some of customers from the above places on sheer “clamor for change.”

There was a time when Alimodian Vice Mayor Geefrey Alonsabe repeatedly ranted against the  ILECO I personnel for prolonged brownouts during his town’s important activities.

Anyway, on the likelihood of the Garin bill morphing into law, the practical personnel of ILECO 1 might just opt for a win-win alternative, which is to ink a joint venture agreement with MORE Power, following the example of the defunct Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (CENECO).

Having agonized over unpaid debts amounting to PHP 600 million, CENECO signed a a joint venture agreement with Primelectric for a new entity now known as Negros Electric and Power Corp (NEPC) or Negros Power for short.

Primelectric, by the way, also owns MORE Power. Its president is also Roel Z. Castro.

Negros Power has grown by leaps and bounds, starting from 177,737 customers in August 2024 to around 250,000 today.

What a journey it has been!