Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Peco willing to refund P2B to consumers
By Lory Ann B. Bilbao
THE legal officer of the Panay Electric Company Inc. (Peco) said Tuesday their firm is willing to refund the P2-billion to the consumers once they receive the Energy Regulatory Commission's (ERC) order for them to do so.
"If there is a final order that we should refund, then we will comply with that. However, we have not received the ERC order yet," Peco Legal Officer Salvador Altura told Sun.Star.
He added the order "remains a ductile legal matter" and it's premature for the assailing group, Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), to rejoice.
"Lawig pa na nga asuntuhanay (It's a long battle). So, their (FDC) rejoicing is still premature," he said.
On conversion of Peco into a coop
Altura said that while the ERC directed the electric distributors in the country to conduct a redistribution of electricity, which would pave the way to a public offering, thus, offering stocks to the public and a possible rise of an electric cooperative, the Peco is not obliged to conduct such.
He said that the Peco was already partly-owned by the public.
"One of the stockholders of the Peco which is the First Philippine Holdings, is a publicly listed company. Thus, we are not obliged to conduct a public offering."
He said that the Peco, as of the moment, has not received the June 9 order of the ERC to refund the P2.89 billion to its 40,000 electric consumers yet. Thus, he did not give a legal opinion as to the reported scheme that the ERC ordered them.
Deputy Secretary General of the FDC Ted Aldwin Ong told Sun.Star that while the Peco is not obliged to conduct a public hearing, it does not mean that it cannot be converted into a cooperative if the consumers would want that their refundables be turned into stocks with the Peco.
"With or without public any offering, they can be taken over by the public with the amount they need to refund (P2.89 billion)," he said.
(June 21, 2006 issue)
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