BAGUIO CITY – The board of directors (BOD) of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco) slammed the doors on the endorsement of Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Paz Rafael Banaag to be the general manager of the electric cooperative.
By a majority
decision, the 11-man board on May 19 voted to reject RB Resolution No. 2021-47
issued by the Board of Administrators (BOA) of the National Electrification
Administration (NEA) that endorsed Banaag, a lawyer, to be the new GM of
Beneco.
The Beneco board, led
by its president, lawyer Esteban Somngi, assailed the BOA endorsement as unfair
and utterly without legal basis.
The board also
reiterated the three resolutions it passed in 2020 that named and appointed OIC
GM Melchor Licoben as the GM of the electric cooperative, a move that is
expected to escalate a row with the BOA that has refused calls and petitions
for it to recall, amend or set aside the resolution of endorsement.
Somngi said the decision to reject was “a collective decision of the BOD,” as he refused to answer queries from media on how many and who voted among the directors for or against the BOA resolution.
Aside from Somngi, the other directors are Mike Maspil, Rocky Aliping, James Aclopen, Peter Busaing, Luke Gomeyac, (all representing Baguio City), Robert Valentin, Enrique Moresto, Fr. Jonathan Obar, Josephine Tuling and Jefferd Acop (all representing Benguet).
Those who refused to confirm Rafael’s endorsement said Licoben, was unfairly discarded from the list of qualified applicants the BOA forwarded to the Beneco board.
“The basis of the BOA to endorse Rafael is her higher score of 94% in the final interview compared to Licoben who garnered 82.75%. But nothing in NEA Memorandum No. 2017-35 states that only the candidate with the highest score in the interview must be endorsed to the BOD. Both of them were qualified. Licoben did not fail the interview. Therefore, both of them must be endorsed to the BOD for selection,” they said.
NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035 governs the rules of recruitment and selection for the GMs of all electric cooperatives in the country.
Jefferd Monang, BENECO Employees Labor Union (BELU) president, welcomed the decision of the board but said the battle is half won.
The resolution rejecting the lone endorsement and the reasons for the decision will be forwarded to the BOA for its appropriate action.
Under NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035, the BOA has the power to review the board’s decision to reject and should it find the reasons unreasonable, it can endorse the other pre-qualified applicants.
Monang said the BOA might exercise such option and refuse the denial by the BOD of the BOA’s resolution.
In a vigil that followed the meeting of the BOD on Wednesday, the BELU said they will now train their guns on the BOA which the members suspect was bent on installing Rafael as the new GM.
Concerned member consumer owners and BENECO employees, led by the BELU and the BENECO Supervisors Association (BSA) had been holding vigils after office hours since last week to protest the BOA’s decision to endorse only one applicant.
“How can the BOA endorse an applicant who is not technically competent to lead an electric cooperative which is a highly technical industry?” the BELU and BSA said.
The directors who voted to reject the endorsement criticized the BOA for leaving them no option to deny or confirm the lone endorsement which they said is their prerogative under NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035.
Edgardo Masongsong, NEA administrator and a member of the BOA, wrote the BOD on May 6 and directed the BOD act on the BOA endorsement not later than May 14.
Attached to the letter was a Performance Management Contract (PMC) given to newly appointed GMs who will undergo a one- year probationary contract.
The directors said the tenor of the NEA BOA is for the BOD to favor the endorsement and practically eliminate Licoben as an applicant.
“The BOD is the body that has the power to hire and fire a GM. The BOA arrogated upon itself such power when it asked the board to approve the lone endorsement,” they said.
Somngi said the decision to reject was “a collective decision of the BOD,” as he refused to answer queries from media on how many and who voted among the directors for or against the BOA resolution.
Aside from Somngi, the other directors are Mike Maspil, Rocky Aliping, James Aclopen, Peter Busaing, Luke Gomeyac, (all representing Baguio City), Robert Valentin, Enrique Moresto, Fr. Jonathan Obar, Josephine Tuling and Jefferd Acop (all representing Benguet).
Those who refused to confirm Rafael’s endorsement said Licoben, was unfairly discarded from the list of qualified applicants the BOA forwarded to the Beneco board.
“The basis of the BOA to endorse Rafael is her higher score of 94% in the final interview compared to Licoben who garnered 82.75%. But nothing in NEA Memorandum No. 2017-35 states that only the candidate with the highest score in the interview must be endorsed to the BOD. Both of them were qualified. Licoben did not fail the interview. Therefore, both of them must be endorsed to the BOD for selection,” they said.
NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035 governs the rules of recruitment and selection for the GMs of all electric cooperatives in the country.
Jefferd Monang, BENECO Employees Labor Union (BELU) president, welcomed the decision of the board but said the battle is half won.
The resolution rejecting the lone endorsement and the reasons for the decision will be forwarded to the BOA for its appropriate action.
Under NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035, the BOA has the power to review the board’s decision to reject and should it find the reasons unreasonable, it can endorse the other pre-qualified applicants.
Monang said the BOA might exercise such option and refuse the denial by the BOD of the BOA’s resolution.
In a vigil that followed the meeting of the BOD on Wednesday, the BELU said they will now train their guns on the BOA which the members suspect was bent on installing Rafael as the new GM.
Concerned member consumer owners and BENECO employees, led by the BELU and the BENECO Supervisors Association (BSA) had been holding vigils after office hours since last week to protest the BOA’s decision to endorse only one applicant.
“How can the BOA endorse an applicant who is not technically competent to lead an electric cooperative which is a highly technical industry?” the BELU and BSA said.
The directors who voted to reject the endorsement criticized the BOA for leaving them no option to deny or confirm the lone endorsement which they said is their prerogative under NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035.
Edgardo Masongsong, NEA administrator and a member of the BOA, wrote the BOD on May 6 and directed the BOD act on the BOA endorsement not later than May 14.
Attached to the letter was a Performance Management Contract (PMC) given to newly appointed GMs who will undergo a one- year probationary contract.
The directors said the tenor of the NEA BOA is for the BOD to favor the endorsement and practically eliminate Licoben as an applicant.
“The BOD is the body that has the power to hire and fire a GM. The BOA arrogated upon itself such power when it asked the board to approve the lone endorsement,” they said.
No comments:
Post a Comment