THE Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) on Thursday, February 26, 2026 denounced the recent transfer of power distribution operations in the Island Garden City of Samal to Davao Light and Power Company (Davao Light), alleging that the enforcement of a court-issued writ of possession was unlawful and caused a temporary island-wide outage.
In a statement, the cooperative asserted that the implementation of the order by authorities was improper, declaring, “The purported implementation of the Writ of Possession by the Sheriff and Local Government Officials was ILLEGAL.”
Nordeco said the action interfered with its existing power supply agreement with Phil Power Ventures Corporation, which serves as its generation provider. The cooperative cited a report from the supplier claiming that personnel, allegedly acting under instructions from officials and representatives of Davao Light, manually opened equipment at the plant.
“PPVC insisted that acting upon the order of the sheriff, local government officials present thereat and DLPC and over its objection, using a hot stick, the crew of DLPC manually opened the reclosers at the Power Plant Facility of PPVC the generation provider of Nordeco, which caused power interruption in the whole island for 30 long minutes,” Nordeco stated.
It added the move violated standard operating and safety procedures for switching or shutdown operations and resulted in financial losses for the cooperative. It maintained that its franchise in the city remains valid until 2033 and that it will continue protecting the interests of its member-consumer-owners and public investments in rural electrification.
The cooperative also criticized the manner of enforcement, stating, “What we saw yesterday was a MOB rule at the behest of DLPC and participated by political leaders promoting their 2028 political agenda, emblematic of a total disregard of the rule of law.”
It argued that certain court matters related to the writ were still pending resolution as of February 24 and therefore questioned the legality of the takeover process. Nordeco further maintained that the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the Philippines upholding Republic Act No. 12144 merely granted operational authority within Davao Light’s expanded franchise and did not extinguish Nordeco’s rights as a franchise holder.
The cooperative cited jurisprudence involving Iloilo Electric Cooperative and More Electric and Power Corporation, arguing that overlapping utility franchises may legally coexist because, under the Constitution, “A FRANCHISE IS NOT EXCLUSIVE.”
Earlier, local officials formally welcomed Davao Light’s assumption of Samal’s distribution system following the writ of possession issued by a regional trial court in Panabo City. The transition includes control of distribution assets such as poles, lines, transformers, and related infrastructure under the Davao Light Expansion Act.
Davao Light President Enriczar Tia said the Supreme Court ruling confirms the validity of the company’s expanded franchise and does not establish any “parallel operation” between the two utilities, stressing that its authority to operate in the area is enforceable.
Nordeco, however, reiterated its call for vigilance and transparency, insisting it remains a lawful franchise holder and will continue to serve consumers while pursuing legal remedies. DEF