Baguio-Benguet Power Coop Officials Face Admin Raps For Defying NEA

June 16, 2021 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY – Six officials of the Benguet Electric Cooperative, the electric cooperative solely distributing power in the whole of Baguio City and Benguet province, are facing an administrative complaint before the National Electrification Administration for reportedly defying the electric cooperative regulatory body’s issuances, memoranda, rules and regulations.
Beneco member-consumer Godofredo Cawaing accused Beneco Board of Directors (BOD) Jeffrey Acop, Robert Valentin, Peter Busaing, Jonathan Obar, Josephine Ruling and Mike Maspil of disrespecting a NEA Board of Administrators’ (BOA) resolution and acted in a “display of arrogance” by rejecting a NEA resolution endorsing candidate for General Manager lawyer Marie Rafel Banaag and passing a resolution confirming OIC Engineer Melchor Licoben as the electric cooperative’s GM.
Cawaing claimed before the NEA Administrative Committee that the six BOD members willfully violated NEA issuances, memoranda and other rules and regulations by arguing that under NEA memorandum no. 2017-035, “after the NEA BOA transmit its recommendation to the BOD of the EC concerned which is Beneco, the BOD shall take action on the recommendation of the NEA BOA and shall reduce its action to a resolution.”
Instead of doing such, the BOD transmitted a resolution containing its previous resolution appointing Licoben as GM, the complainant rued. He stressed “it should not have been part of the resolution in the first place”.
Cawaing said, “the matter of vacancy in the position of General Manager of Beneco is a public issue.”
As a member-consumer of the electric cooperative, he is interested in the development of the issue and what became so interesting to him was “the action of the Beneco BOD on the BOA resolution recommending Rafael as the GM of Beneco.”
Under NEA rules and regulation, the BOD should take action only on the NEA BOA resolution by confirming or rejecting it and not to make an appointment of GM of Beneco, Cawaing stressed. He said the process of selection of such is in progress in accordance with the procedures laid down under NEA rules.
“There was a clear and willful violation of NEA rules if not a display of arrogance and disrespect to the very office which the Beneco BOD and all other electric cooperatives officials are bound to respect.”
He further added that the action of the BOD is tantamount to dictating and ordering the NEA BOA to confirm the appointment of Licoben. “This a violation of the rules as it has no factual or legal basis.”
Cawaing also accused the BOD of violating some provisions of the NEA rules and regulations for allowing the intervention of local politics in the affairs of Beneco, much more in the position of GM which is a very sensitive position.
He cited section 26-A stating the independence of the BOD and Officers of electric cooperatives.
Cawaing thus asked the NEA that the six BOD members be slapped with corresponding penalties for willful violation and non-compliance of the NEA issuances, memoranda, rules and regulation; violation of section 26-A; and for encroachment upon the powers and prerogatives of the NEA BOA.
He also asked the electric cooperative’s regulatory body for other reliefs that are just and equitable.
Artemio A. Dumlao