09/23/2011
While the country was in
suspense over the turnout of the much-awaited public transport strike in
the morning of Monday, Sept. 19, a dozen power consumer-crusaders
trooped to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to oppose the latest
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) petition for its Maximum Average Price
(MAP) of P1.5828/kWh for the Regulatory Year 2012.
The opposition
is based on several issues: 1) the findings of Mang Naro Lualhati, our
90-year-old champion who helped us win the P30.5-billion Meralco refund
in 2003, that the MAP should only be P0.9039 per kWh due to P46 billion
in excess capital expenditure claimed by Meralco; 2) power
distributor-owner Mr. Uriel Borja’s charges of massive overpricing in
Meralco’s Rate Asset Base (RAB), such as the 500-percent overprice in
its transformers, the 3,000-percent overprice in its electric poles,
etc.; and 3) the prior cases yet unresolved by the ERC that are
prejudicial to that MAP hearing.
Dutifully, the “intervenors” (an
ERC term for accredited interested parties), led by Mang Naro, Borja,
and Nasecore (National Association of Electricity Consumers for
Reforms), arrived at the ERC hearing room on the 15th floor of the
Pacific Center Bldg., San Miguel Ave., Ortigas Center at 9 a.m. I was
even there earlier at 7:30 a.m. to ensure a warm welcome for
citizen-volunteers whom we appealed to join. This has become necessary
since the last decision of the Supreme Court (SC), penned by
PeNoy-appointed Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, blamed consumers for
lacking the vigilance to protect their rights in denying the opposition
to Meralco’s P0.29 per kWh rate increase.
Quite a handful
responded to my constant appeal over radio. Cesar, a daily wage earner,
came; followed by tricycle driver Oyet; and then, Richard, a college
student who helps us upload materials to our blog. Ruth, a
businesswoman, arrived after getting past the morning traffic; and then
we saw our ever reliable civil servant, Ferdie. Much later, we were
joined by Joy, a social worker, as well as Poem Gratela, the founder of
Migrante.
Mang Naro, Borja and Pete Ilagan of Nasecore, along with
their counsel, were already at the hearing room; and as soon as the
clock struck nine, strangely, only half the hearing room was lit and the
row of benches Meralco lawyers would normally fill were empty.
In
a few minutes, we understood why. An ERC lady lawyer walked into the
room explaining that the hearing would be held at 2 p.m. But we were
sure the ERC had posted 9 a.m. on its Web site, a fact we verified again
and again over three weeks. I checked the ERC’s official Web site again
that very morning before I sent out my text reminders. It was clear
that the hearing was scheduled at 9 a.m. Borja, who had to fly from
Mindanao, also checked the ERC schedules without fail.
And while
the ERC kept insisting it was always 2 p.m., pointing to its August
order, it is undeniable that the change of schedule to 9 a.m. was also
officially posted online since three weeks ago.
To make sure I had
the evidence, I opened my laptop to take a picture or screen capture of
the Web announcement; but lo and behold, it had been changed just that
morning while we were waiting at the hearing room. Fortunately, one of
the oppositors checked the ERC bulletin board just outside the hearing
room; and there we found the evidence that incontrovertibly proves 9
a.m. as the official hearing schedule!
We showed that to the ERC
lawyers and demanded a certified true copy of the document. We had to
post a guard at the bulletin board for four hours before the agency
issued a certified true copy and we allowed it to be taken down. After a
brief huddle, the group’s lawyer drafted a motion stating our demand
for Meralco to be declared in default and for the cancellation of the 2
p.m. hearing, which all of the oppositors signed and was duly received
by the ERC.
The group then mulled its options: In making such a
motion, would we be stopped from attending that afternoon hearing, which
we were certain ERC would hold despite our protest? If we boycotted
that hearing, could they declare us in default as what had happened in
the previous controversial ERC and SC decision, where the public lost
and Meralco won its unjustified P0.29 per kWh increase?
I called
lawyers Bono Adaza and Alan Paguia for advice, and both suggested that
we attend the 2 p.m. hearing to demand the dismissal of the Meralco
petition for being in default and to declare the afternoon hearing as
unacceptable.
But as we decided to push ahead, it also presented a
few problems: Everyone had already scheduled other things. Besides, the
enervation was really sapping our energies. Mang Naro felt he wanted to
go home; so did the others. But it was also too much trouble getting
back and forth the very bad traffic in that area.
So we decided to
stay on and got some burgers and bottled water for a “camp in” at the
hearing room. Borja volunteered to treat everyone and we stayed on. Most
of us even took a noontime nap at the hearing room. That was until 2
p.m. when a dozen de-amerikana male and female lawyers of Meralco
marched in (were they tipped off not to come at 9 a.m.?), along with an
ERC hearing officer (my, those ERC commissioners are never around).
We
managed to harangue the said officer to limit the hearing’s function to
receiving the documents of Meralco and postponing deliberations on its
merits until our demands were officially heard in a subsequent hearing.
For sure, it was only a half victory for the day. We will bring the
incident to court along with several other cases we are preparing. And
so the struggle continues…
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo
OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL,
Saturday, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable
Channel 8 on “ERC-Meralco-llusions?”; visit
http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio
archives)
(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL:
http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110923com5.html
