Magalong to Rafael: Back off from Beneco Baguio, Benguet folks ‘retake’ Beneco from NEA ‘take-over’

By Sherwin De Vera and Alfred Dizon 

BAGUIO CITY -- Employees and member-consumer-owners of Baguio and Benguet took back Benguet Electric Cooperative headquarters here Wednesday morning, Oct. 20, three days after National Electrification Administration officials and appointees staged a “take-over” dead of night Oct. 18 with help of fully-armed police forces around 2:30 a.m.
    Staff of NEA-appointed general manager and lawyer Ana Maria Rafael left the Beneco compound around 9:50 a.m. Wednesday as Beneco employees marched from Baguio City's central business district to their main office here at South Drive.
    Beneco incumbent general manager engineer Melchor Licoben immediately ordered Wednesday an inventory of materials like computers and hard drives after South Drive was retaken from NEA appointees.  
    Rafael’s minions reportedly destroyed ignition switches of numerous Beneco vehicles during their “takeover.”   
    The main control room was reportedly also damaged by Rafael’s group but this was restored by Beneco IT experts.
    Sources said Dumol Hall was turned into an unsightly dirty kitchen by Rafael’s group while the board room was turned into sleeping quarters.   
    On Wednesday, Beneco facilities in Baguio and Benguet were checked by Licoben’s staff.
    Rafael’s minions during their takeover, reportedly installed their own tellers and cashiers at Beneco main office here at South Drive, Maharlika Livelihood Center among others while original workers went to Burnham Sports Comples at Burnham Athletic Bowl and held vigil.
    Rafael’s group also reportedly destroyed the door at Beneco receiving office at Maharlika, entered and received payments from residents.  
    Wednesday morning, Rafael’s “workers” scampered away when word got around Beneco headquarters was retaken by Licoben’s supporters numbering more than a thousand.
    Money collection at Maharlika was allegedly taken by Rafael’s group when they fled.
    Many Baguio and Benguet folks were reportedly on their way to beef up those who went to the South Drive main building earlier to “retake” it from Rafael’s group but didn’t go there after social media reported the building and compound was retaken by Licoben’s supporters.     
    There were no major incidents after that except for around 20 security guards of Power Plus security agency reportedly hired by Rafael who were disrupting folks  paying their power bills at Maharlika Livelihood Center early Friday morning.
    Rafael reportedly has since hied off at the YMCA building which she rented and presented as Beneco office.
    Rent was reportedly P5,000 a day for the facility at third floor.
    Following this, Baguio Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said:  “Atty. Ana Marie Rafael should take the initiative to inform the National Electrification Administration that she is no longer interested in the position as general manager of Benguet Electric Cooperative.”
    Magalong witnessed overwhelming support of member-consumers to Licoben during public protests against forcible take-over by NEA of the electric utility’s offices Oct. 21.
    The NEA-appointed individuals enforced a take-over of Beneco’s management on Oct. 18 disregarding status quo order of the House Committee on Energy pending resolution of legal inquiries and audit procedures affecting the electric distribution utility.
    Since that time to date, employees and member-consumers held public vigils day and night to guard the area from another NEA take-over while protesting the NEA order installing Rafael as GM.
    “They (NEA-appointees) may still attempt to take over unless there is an order from the President or from Malacañang for them to step aside. We will do our best to help resolve this in a mature way and peacefully with no lies or deception,” Magalong said.
    “Atty. Rafael should be realistic and accept the fact that she cannot really take over the management of Beneco. Her backers should also know the real situation and accept that they do not have the capacity and moral ascendancy to take over the industry,” Magalong added.
    Magalong said as a member-consumer himself, the priority for both parties should be delivery of service to the public especially that parts of Baguio City and Benguet still has no electricity due to typhoon Maring.
    As a way to show his support, Magalong sent a message to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea saying consumers are greatly affected by the Beneco leadership tiff.
    The mayor appealed to the presidential secretary to address the issue with urgency.
    The mayor said Medialdea responded, “I will look into this.”
    Magalong reiterated his unwavering support to the leadership of Licoben as Beneco GM based on his competence, technical knowledge, decisiveness and fast response to concerns of the consumers.
    Speaking before the crowd at around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at South Drive, Licoben thanked MCOs and local governments for their support.
    “I don’t really know what to say except for thank you… Our problem last night was if there will be a gathering, we don’t know what can happen and we keep praying that no violence will occur and we are grateful that we, the MCOs, showed that we are peace-loving people in Benguet and Baguio City,” he said.
    “After this we will immediately go back to check our system and hopefully after lunch we will be back to normal operations. But this is not the end but actually the beginning. We hope we can sustain this so that our operation will not be paralyzed,” he said Wednesday.
    Licoben appealed to everybody to remain peaceful and vigilant.
    Hours after employees resumed work at Beneco, NEA Project Supervisor Omar Mayo told media he was at the Beneco house in Alapang, La Trinidad, checking supplies needed for repairs when protesters entered the headquarters on South Drive.
    He said he stayed there the entire time the protest was happening at the main office to oversee removal of a forklift and two transformers blocking the facility’s entrance.
    Mayo said he had to implement suspension of Beneco directors Jeffred Acop, Mike Maspil, Peter Busaing, Jonathan Obar, Josephin Tuling, Robert Valentin, and board president Esteban Somngi.
    Said board director stood by Licoben's appointment and rejected NEA's designation of Rafael as general manager. 
    The suspension stemmed from a Sept. 6 complaint filed by Rafael against the board for gross insubordination, indirect contempt, and "willful violation of NEA rules."
    Her complaint cited their refusal to accept her designation as new general manager.
    Meanwhile, Somngi said around 50 police officers entered the headquarters "like they were conducting commando operations" on Oct. 18. He said what police did was illegal.
    "We went there (South Drive) to ask if they have any court order to forcefully take over Beneco and they failed to present any," he said.
    "If they were there to enforce the NEA suspension order, why did it have to be at 3 a.m. and why did the police have to be in full battle gear?" he asked.
    Licoben said the police who entered the compound and offices carried long firearms. He added police barricaded entrances.
    Reports indicated police took the recorder of the CCTV system and damaged a glass door.
    "As far as we are concerned, what the police did was illegal and we are looking into possible legal actions against police and NEA," he added. 
    Last Wednesday, bystanders along the march route raised their fists and cheered protesters. Vehicles honked their horns in support of employees. 
    MCOs waiting at headquarters welcomed employees with cheers, beating gongs as around 100 police officers stood on alert.
    After negotiations with Baguio City police chief Glenn Lonogan, protesting employees and MCOs entered the Beneco compound and office at 8:45 a.m.
    MCOs and employees asked police to leave and allow conditions to normalize in the power coop compound.
    Lonogan said there were around 500 protesters while organizers gave a 1,000-person estimate of the crowd.
    As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, Lonogan remained inside Beneco offices to supervise police.
    Protesters immediately started a program, reading a General Assembly resolution rejecting NEA's appointment of Rafael as general manager and suspension of seven members of the Beneco board who rejected Rafael.
    This, as more protesters were joining the group. Neither Mayo nor Rafael spoke with reporters covering the event.
    The dawn raid-like takeover of Beneco by the NEA and Police Regional Office troops on Oct. 18 received widespread condemnation from Baguio and Benguet communities, including the leader of the Diocese of Baguio.
    “I am issuing this statement as a concerned citizen and resident of Baguio. Together with the member-consumer-owners (MCOs) of Beneco and other households and residents of Baguio and Benguet, I have been alarmed with what is happening in the Beneco,” said Catholic Bishop Victor Bendico of the Baguio Diocese.
    The bishop expressed disappointment over NEA's barring of employees after the takeover.
    He warned the move could hamper rehabilitation efforts after typhoon Maring ravaged Baguio and Benguet.
    “It (takeover by NEA) disrupted many activities and undertakings, from great projects of government workers and leaders to the smallest efforts of simple citizens and students that entail electricity,” the head of the Baguio diocese said.
    “Along with others, we also denounce the ‘forceful takeover of the offices’ of Beneco (by the NEA). I expect respect, and civility, and refined manners in addressing concerns that beset us,” Bendico said.
    The Diocese of Baguio with the League of Associations at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas Inc. held a 6:30 p.m. prayer vigil Tuesday at La Trinidad Trading Post.
    Participants expressed support to employees and Beneco officials suspended by NEA but reinstalled by MCOs during the recent general assembly.
    Mayo said the NEA deputized the PNP to implement suspension order against the seven Beneco board of directors and their appointed general manager, engineer Licoben.
    NEA ordered police “to employ all necessary steps” to prevent suspended Beneco officials from exercising authority.
    Police stayed in the area since the NEA takeover but on Wednesday, Magalong said cops were there to protect member-consumers.
    The combat-like operation to take control of the civilian electric utility facility on Oct. 18 caused alarm and frightened employees.
    Other workers opted not to report and joined the sit-down protest.
    Footages of the incident quickly circulated in social media, prompting MCOs to rush to the area for an impromptu protest against the forcible takeover of NEA and Rafael.
    Several members of the Baguio community called the incident an “armed” and “militarist” action.
    Garcia’s Premium Coffee condemned the incident, calling it “illegal and militarist.” The shop owners also expressed solidarity with Beneco and support to Licoben.
    The establishment is one of the oldest coffee stores in the city.
    Meanwhile, Baguio multi-sectoral group Tongtongan ti Umili (TTU) characterized the Beneco seizure as “NEA-instigated, Malacañang-backed, and PROCor-NBI-protected break in.”
    They denounced the “armed takeover” of the facility.
     “We have seen attempts like this done by forces of the Duterte regime, who resorted to force and power when they can’t get what they want,” the statement said.
    “Tongtongan ti Umili strongly regards these developments as a strong insult to members-consumers-owners (MCOs) of Beneco, especially when we are all trying to recover from disaster. The actions of Rafael and NEA spit blatantly on our legal processes, disrespecting the cases filed in court,” the statement said.
    TTU also condemned PROCor for allowing the use of police in a hostile takeover of a private utility.
    Philreca also lambasted the PNP “for allowing the agency to be used in an illegal act and protecting only the one-sided interest” of Rafael’s camp. The electric coop alliance accused police of “blindly following the orders from its chain of command instead of protecting the interest of member-consumer-owners and maintaining neutrality.”
    "At this point, police have no personality in what is happening in Beneco, a private company. They do not have any authority to be in the premises. If any, they are supposed to be there only to maintain neutrality and ensure peace and order," the group said.
    "NEA may have the power to deputize law enforcement to enforce a decision in the exercise of its adjudicating powers, but this is not a case of adjudication," Philreca added.
    The House of Representatives’ power bloc asked Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año and PNP Chief Guillermo Eleazar to intervene on this issue.
    In a letter addressed to Año and Eleazar, congressmen said the Beneco office is “being treated as if a military camp.”
    They questioned the continuing presence of the PNP since it had already fulfilled the NEA order.
    Officials from Baguio City and Benguet expressed concern and dismay over the incident.
    Benguet Provincial Board members filed six resolutions regarding the Beneco issue.
    On top of these was the declaration of Rafael as persona non grata in Benguet authored by Juan Nazarro, Jr. The body will discuss the resolutions on Oct. 25, their next regular session.
    The Baguio City Council also passed a resolution on Oct. 18, requesting Licoben, Mayo, and the PROCOR director to appear before the body on Oct. 25 to explain the incident.
    Mayor Romeo Salda and Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan expressed disappointment over NEA’s takeover.
    Mayor Magalong condemned the incident earlier and reiterated his trust and confidence in Licoben’s leadership.
    Baguio City Rep. Mark Go reiterated his stand Beneco directors have authority to appoint the general manager.
    He said his appeal to NEA to resolve the matter during the budget deliberation “have fallen on deaf ears.”
    “It is unfortunate that the situation has escalated to a degree where armed uniformed PNP personnel were involved. I am also saddened by the fact employees and customers of Beneco are affected by this ongoing conflict,” he said.  -- (With Baguio city government information office reports)