DESPITE President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. vetoing House Bill (HB) 10554, which would’ve grant the expansion of the franchise coverage of the Davao Light and Power Company (Davao Light) to other parts of Davao del Norte serviced by North Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco), Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) Mayor Al David Uy will still lobby for the island to be covered under a new electric utility company.
The mayor said in a radio interview that many were dismayed with the President's decision to veto the bill.
Uy said they had originally proposed that the expansion of the DLPC franchise to other parts of Davao del Norte be gradually implemented.
The mayor explained that the franchise of Igacos is different from the other areas of the province. In addition, he said that the power distribution to the island, through the submarine cable, utilizes the facility of DLPC.
"Why not, since duol pud ang Davao Light sa duol... so mas dali i-give up ang Samal (Since Samal , why not give up their franchise in favor of Davao Light in the island since it is near to the areas with existing franchise. We have been pushing this)," the mayor said.
Uy said he will request Davao del Norte Second District Representative Alan Dujali to lobby for another House Bill expanding the franchise coverage of the DLPC to other parts of the province, but only to Igacos for the meantime.
Uy first broke the news of the veto through a Facebook post on Thursday morning, July 28, posting a copy of the letter from the president, citing the latter's reason for deferring the bill.
Based on the letter dated July 27, Marcos explained that the bill cannot be approved as it violates a provision in the constitution provided that Nordeco's franchise in the province has yet to expire in 2028 and 2033.
"While I recognize the prerogative of the Honorable Members of Congress and the laudable intent of the bill to further improve and develop access to electricity within the captive market of the expanded franchise area, I am constrained to veto the bill due to the susceptibility of the proposed expansion of the franchise area of Davao Light and Power Company, Inc., to legal and/or constitutional challenges due to the apparent overlap and possible infringement into the subsisting franchise, permits, and contracts previously granted to North Davao Electric Cooperative Inc.," the President said in the letter addressed to the Senate.
Marcos also explained that HB 10554 runs counter to the provisions of Section 27 of Republic Act No. 9163 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) mandating that "all existing franchises shall be allowed to their full term."
He added that repealing Nordeco's franchise over the expanded franchise area will violate the non-impairment clause as provided in Section 10, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
"As acknowledged by the bill, North Davao Electric Cooperative Inc. has "existing power supply agreements with generation companies that are provisionally or finally approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission" that will necessarily be terminated or impaired upon the resulting repeal of North Davao Electric Cooperative Inc.'s franchise over the expanded area," the President said.
Furthermore, Marcos said the bill is a "prohibited collateral attack" for the bill's provision on amending a franchise of another entity over the expanded area.
"This is contrary to a jurisprudentially settled doctrine that a franchise cannot be subjected to a "collateral attack."," he said.
Ave Rose Castillo, convenor of the Davao Consumer Movement (DCM), said in statement that the veto on the franchise expansion is only a temporary setback.
Castillo admitted their group is disappointed with the action of the President, but she said it will not stop the group and constituents to push "for a better power industry to continue their crusade."
“We view this as just a hiccup on our call for the government to allow us to experience what our neighbors in the province have experienced. We don’t want to continue to be just a `second citizen’ of the province in terms of power services,” she said.
DLPC Reputation Enhancement Department manager Fermin Edillon told SunStar Davao in a text message that they have received information on Marcos' decision not to sign the bill.
Fermin, however, declined to give further comment on the matter.
"We cannot comment further on this until we receive final instructions from our regulators and government authorities," he said.
Nordeco, as of writing, has also not issued any statement following the vetoed bill.
At present, the franchise area of Davao Light only covers Davao City and Panabo City, Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte. (RGL)