Duterte OKs law granting franchise on Legarda’s son solar company

August 1, 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a law granting franchise on the solar company of the son of former Senator and now Antique Representative Loren Legarda.

Duterte inked on July 31, 2019 Republic Act No. 11357, which grants Solar Para a Bayan Corporation a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate, and maintain distributed energy resources and microgrids in the remote and unviable, or unserved or underserved areas in selected provinces in the Philippines to improve access to sustainable energy.

The SPSB is owned by Legarda's son, Leandro Leviste.

The law identified the areas to be served by SPSB, such as some barangays, municipalities and cities in the provinces of Aklan, Aurora, Bohol, Cagayan, Camiguin, Capiz, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Guimaras, Isabela, Masbate, Misamis Occidental, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, and Taw-Tawi.

There are also certain municipalities in Batangas and Quezon that the law identified.

The franchise shall be for a term of 25 years from the date of the effectivity of the law, unless sooner cancelled or revoked.

The franchise shall be deemed ipso facto revoked in the event that the grantee fails to operate continuously for two years.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, in consultation with the Energy Regulatory Commission and other stakeholders, is tasked to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to operationalize the franchise without compromising the grid stability, the rate effect on consumers, the continued visibility and sustainability of the grantees operation, and other technical and financial considerations as determined by the DOE and ERC.

The law shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Celerina Monte/DMS