Senators hit NEA on Beneco; SP: Mayo persona non grata

BAGUIO CITY – Operation of the Benguet Electric Cooperative on even as member-consumer-owners are having 24-hour daily vigils at its main headquarters here in South Drive to prevent appointees of the National Electrification Administration from taking over the power firm.

    This, as the Senate committee on finance assailed the NEA over the leadership controversy of Beneco and pressed in-depth investigation of the matter.   
    Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on energy and member of the Senate committee on finance, said the NEA had no authority to interfere with affairs of Beneco in appointment of its general manager because it was not an ailing electric cooperative.
    Engineer Melchor S. Licoben, who was appointed general manager by the Beneco board of directors on April 21, 2020 by virtue of Resolution No. 2020-90 is now running daily affairs of Beneco at its South Drive headquarters here.
    This, even as lawyer Ana Marie Paz Rafael was appointed by the NEA board of administrators on April 29, 2021 and still insists she is the GM.
    Rafael has since hied off to the YMCA building she rented at the top of Session Road purportedly to work.
    At the Senate, Gatchallian said during recent committee hearing it was the prerogative of the board of directors electric cooperatives like Beneco to appoint the general manager.
    Gatchalian scolded newly-installed NEA Administrator Emmanuel Juanesa for the agency's failure to instill stability in leadership of Beneco, one of the country's top-performing electric cooperatives, when it insisted on appointing an unqualified and unrecommended applicant for the position of general manager.
    Gatchalian told NEA officials the regulating agency could interfere with affairs of an electric cooperative if it was declared ailing.
    In the case of Beneco, it was not an ailing cooperative, thus undue interference of NEA was unnecessary as it was one of the top-performing electric cooperatives in the country that could independently select its general manager pursuant to established rules and regulations, enshrined under NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035.
    The senator criticized the NEA's recent forcible takeover of the Beneco main headquarters in the wee hours of Oct. 18 with the aid of heavily armed police personnel.
    This caused outrage among member-consumer-owners who used their own force to retake the same from NEA personalities.
    Sen. Imee Marcos also branded the forcible takeover of the Beneco main headquarters, done under the guise of serving the preventive suspension order of some members of the Beneco board and incumbent general manager — as a show of excessive force since those being served with such an order were unarmed.
    Marcos said there was need for in-depth investigation on the matter to ascertain responsible persons who would be charged for offenses.
    Marcos supported the move of Gatchalian to call for a Senate inquiry on the matter to ascertain the NEA's overreach of its powers, causing a leadership impasse in one of the country's top-performing electric cooperatives.
    The senator said NEA resorted to using armed police to take over the Beneco main headquarters to serve preventive suspension of some officials considering there were more peaceful means to do so and a worst case scenario could have spun out of control.
    Sen. leila De Lima had also called for an investigation on the matter.
    Earlier, MCOs, local leaders and the 121-strong Philippine rural Electric Cooperatives Association sought intervention of the Senate to instill law and order in Beneco because the present leadership crisis was having a negative impact on performance of duties and responsibilities of Beneco officials and employees who were caught in the crossfire of the feuding parties.
    This, as the lawyer who took over Beneco for two days in October was also declared unwelcome in the province of Benguet.
    Thirteen members of the Benguet Provincial Board voted to declare Omar Mayo persona non grata during its regular session Wednesday after he appeared via Zoom for the body’s inquiry into the controversial Oct. 18 dawn raid of the Beneco headquarters in nearby Baguio City.
    The 13 board members who declared Mayo PNG included Florencio V. Bentrez, Juan M. Nazarro,Robert Namoro, Jim Botiwey, Neptali B. Camsol, Ruben E. Paoad, Roberto K, Canuto, Fernando M. Balaodan Sr., Nestor B. Fongwan Jr.  Jeston S. Balong-angey and Melchor C. Guesey.
    Mayo was earlier declared persona non grata by the Baguio City Council during its Oct. 23 session, also after launching its own inquiry into the deputization of police officers to help break into the Beneco building at the city’s South Drive before 3 a.m.
    Members of the city council said they did not declare Rafael PNG as she was a Baguio resident.
    This, as Board Member Nazaro, who sponsored the Benguet PNG resolution, said Mayo disrespected customs and traditions of Benguet’s Ibaloy, Kankaney and Kalanguya residents when he led the violent takeover of the power utility serving Baguio and Benguet.
    He described the operation undertaken while people slept as a “misconduct.”
    During the inquiry, Mayo said he was appointed Beneco “project manager” by the NEA’s board of administrators, which grants him the authority to execute NEA’s orders, among them suspension of all Beneco officials who refused to recognize Rafael --NEA’s choice for Beneco manager.
    Board Member Bernard Waclin abstained saying he preferred that lawsuits be filed against Mayo and Rafael, who is former assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, if needed.
    The Provincial Board of Benguet also passed a resolution condemning the Oct. 18 raid-like takeover.
    But they postponed the deliberation on declaration of Rafael as persona non grata in the province pending determination of her role in the Oct. 18 takeover of Beneco.