RTC judge orders bank: Unfreeze Beneco fund
>> Thursday, December 8, 2022
As shutdown of Baguio, Benguet power lines loom
LEADERSHIP FEUD --
Benguet Electric Cooperative member-consumer-owners stage rally October to mark
first anniversary of the failed takeover by a former Palace official and
National Electrification Administration officials aided by police. Banks froze
Beneco’s accounts but a local court last week directed release of funds to pay
the cooperative’s bills to NGCP or the latter would cut off electricity to
Baguio and Benguet.
BAGUIO CITY -- The
Regional Trial Court has ordered China Savings Bank Inc. to unfreeze the
account of Benguet Electric Cooperative so it can pay its obligations to the
National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.
"The plaintiff China Savings Bank Inc. is hereby directed to process and allow the withdrawal by Beneco in the amount of P45,724,054.85 from its account with plaintiff bank to be utilized for the payment of Beneco's obligation to NGCP," RTC Branch 7 presiding judge Cecilia Corazon Dulay-Archog ruled in her Nov. 24, 2022 decision.
Judge Archog's order averted the impending disconnection of Beneco from the grid that could result in a massive blackout in Baguio City and the province of Benguet.
The NGCP is the operator of the power grid that brings the electricity generated by the power supplier of Beneco.
Judge Archog's decision was a result of civil case 9502-R filed by China Bank Savings Inc. versus the camps of Beneco general manager Melchor Licoben and lawyer Omar Mayo of the National Electrification Administration and lawyer Ana Maria Paz Rafael.
Licoben's camp, through their lawyer Delmar O. Carino, informed the court of the NGCP's billing for October 2022 for its regulated transmission charges.
“The bill must be paid on or before November 25, 2022 or suffer penalties and the threat of disconnection from the grid," Carino informed the court in his motion for release of deposit.
“In view of the agreement of both parties during the November 17, 2022 hearing, that pending resolution of the Court of Appeals on who is the duly appointed general manager of Beneco, Beneco will submit its power bills and obligations due to its power suppliers accompanied by supporting documents to the Court, then the court shall issue an Order directing the plaintiff bank to process and allow withdrawal of funds for payment of Beneco's obligations, the Court hereby grants the motion," Judge Archog's order stated.
Licoben shall furnish the Court with proof of payment of the NGCP bill for the October 2022 billing within three days upon payment.
Transmission system charge paid to NGCP is the second biggest amount paid by power consumers under the unbundled rates following the mandate of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001.
Epira privatized the generation and transmission sectors of the power industry.
Beneco's financial difficulties started when its accounts in local banks were frozen following machinations of Mayo and Rafael's camp after their failed takeover of Beneco last Oct. 18, 2021.
Aside from NGCP, Beneco also has unpaid obligations to its power supplier TEAM Energy.
Beneco officials and some of cooperative’s members have sued the NEA for appointing Rafael new general manager during the last months of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
They questioned the eligibility of lawyer and Rafael of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, as well as the procedural violations allegedly committed by the NEA board of administrators in replacing general manager Licoben, an engineer and a Beneco career employee.
Since August, the Baguio City Council had negotiations between Beneco, Rafael’s camp and several banks in the city which froze P449 million of the utility’s accounts last year following Rafael’s designation.
Unable to access its operational funds, Beneco has failed to keep up with its monthly obligations to suppliers and other services, such as the electricity generated by Team Energy.
The firm is a joint venture of Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Marubeni Corp., which operates the 1,200-megawatt Sual Power Station in Pangasinan province.
Beneco, Licoben said, relies on monthly customer payments that range from P350 million to P400 million to settle its monthly bills.
Dulay-Archog was informed on Nov. 24 that Beneco had been billed P45.7 million for transmission arrears in October by the NGCP that had to be settled by Nov. 25.
In July, Dulay-Archog, in a separate case, also restrained the Bank of the Philippine Islands from disbursing Beneco funds to “unauthorized” individuals.
Beneco had sued several banks for “breach of contract” when they allegedly opened the utility’s deposits to people who were not members of the cooperative. Three of these banks are government-owned, and one of these allowed the withdrawal of about P50 million meant for Beneco’s rural electrification program.
"The plaintiff China Savings Bank Inc. is hereby directed to process and allow the withdrawal by Beneco in the amount of P45,724,054.85 from its account with plaintiff bank to be utilized for the payment of Beneco's obligation to NGCP," RTC Branch 7 presiding judge Cecilia Corazon Dulay-Archog ruled in her Nov. 24, 2022 decision.
Judge Archog's order averted the impending disconnection of Beneco from the grid that could result in a massive blackout in Baguio City and the province of Benguet.
The NGCP is the operator of the power grid that brings the electricity generated by the power supplier of Beneco.
Judge Archog's decision was a result of civil case 9502-R filed by China Bank Savings Inc. versus the camps of Beneco general manager Melchor Licoben and lawyer Omar Mayo of the National Electrification Administration and lawyer Ana Maria Paz Rafael.
Licoben's camp, through their lawyer Delmar O. Carino, informed the court of the NGCP's billing for October 2022 for its regulated transmission charges.
“The bill must be paid on or before November 25, 2022 or suffer penalties and the threat of disconnection from the grid," Carino informed the court in his motion for release of deposit.
“In view of the agreement of both parties during the November 17, 2022 hearing, that pending resolution of the Court of Appeals on who is the duly appointed general manager of Beneco, Beneco will submit its power bills and obligations due to its power suppliers accompanied by supporting documents to the Court, then the court shall issue an Order directing the plaintiff bank to process and allow withdrawal of funds for payment of Beneco's obligations, the Court hereby grants the motion," Judge Archog's order stated.
Licoben shall furnish the Court with proof of payment of the NGCP bill for the October 2022 billing within three days upon payment.
Transmission system charge paid to NGCP is the second biggest amount paid by power consumers under the unbundled rates following the mandate of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001.
Epira privatized the generation and transmission sectors of the power industry.
Beneco's financial difficulties started when its accounts in local banks were frozen following machinations of Mayo and Rafael's camp after their failed takeover of Beneco last Oct. 18, 2021.
Aside from NGCP, Beneco also has unpaid obligations to its power supplier TEAM Energy.
Beneco officials and some of cooperative’s members have sued the NEA for appointing Rafael new general manager during the last months of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
They questioned the eligibility of lawyer and Rafael of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, as well as the procedural violations allegedly committed by the NEA board of administrators in replacing general manager Licoben, an engineer and a Beneco career employee.
Since August, the Baguio City Council had negotiations between Beneco, Rafael’s camp and several banks in the city which froze P449 million of the utility’s accounts last year following Rafael’s designation.
Unable to access its operational funds, Beneco has failed to keep up with its monthly obligations to suppliers and other services, such as the electricity generated by Team Energy.
The firm is a joint venture of Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Marubeni Corp., which operates the 1,200-megawatt Sual Power Station in Pangasinan province.
Beneco, Licoben said, relies on monthly customer payments that range from P350 million to P400 million to settle its monthly bills.
Dulay-Archog was informed on Nov. 24 that Beneco had been billed P45.7 million for transmission arrears in October by the NGCP that had to be settled by Nov. 25.
In July, Dulay-Archog, in a separate case, also restrained the Bank of the Philippine Islands from disbursing Beneco funds to “unauthorized” individuals.
Beneco had sued several banks for “breach of contract” when they allegedly opened the utility’s deposits to people who were not members of the cooperative. Three of these banks are government-owned, and one of these allowed the withdrawal of about P50 million meant for Beneco’s rural electrification program.
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