Alvarez calls for ERC abolition; pushes for corruption probe

February 16, 2017

Amid allegations of corruption in the Energy Regulatory Commission, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has filed a bill seeking to abolish the body, a statement from the Lower House said Thursday.

“The suspicions raised against the integrity of the ERC, which is primarily entrusted with regulating the country’s electric industry and promoting competition in the market, cannot be ignored,” said Alvarez in filing House Bill No. 5020.

He cited reports on the suicide of ERC Director Francisco Jose Villa, Jr. who left letters alleging shady deals and irregular practices in the ERC.

Alvarez proposes replacing the ERC with the Board of Energy, which shall be an attached agency of the Department of Energy (DOE).

“This will ensure that the newly-created board shall be explicitly within the regulatory arm of the government and specifically, within the direct control and supervision of the President,” Alvarez said.

The Board of Energy shall perform the functions of the ERC. The board shall be under the supervision and control of the DOE and shall be composed of a chairperson and two members to be appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the energy secretary.

Alvarez added his voice for the clamor to investigate the alleged corruption in the ERC by filing House Resolution No. 776.

Alvarez said while the ERC is tasked to regulate the country’s electricity industry and promote competition in the electricity market, continuous price hikes raised suspicions of collusion and corruption in the commission.

He said such suspicions were bolstered by Villa’s suicide.

“In his suicide note, Villa claimed that his superiors exerted pressure upon his person to approve contracts that disregard the proper regulatory procedures,” Alvarez said.

In his resolution, Alvarez urged the House of Representatives to direct the Committee on Energy to conduct the investigation in aid of legislation.

During the joint investigation conducted last February 8 by the House Committees on Good Government and Energy, four commissioners bared a “cloud of mistrust and fear” hanging over the agency amid the allegations Villa had raised.

The Villa suicide  also prompted President. Rodrigo Duterte to call for the resignation of all the commissioners of ERC to pave the way for a total revamp of the body. DMS