MikeLigalig.com

published by the Bohol Standard

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ruled that Bohol Light Company’s Inc.’s documents submitted to the agency for its application power rate increase are flawed and cancelled the public hearing conducted Sept. 20, 2011 at the Governor’s Mansion in this city.

Citing certain the agency’s rules of procedures, ERC Commissioner Atty. Rhett Mislang told both parties, “The Commission rules in favor of the intervenor-oppositors that any documents should be verified and proof of publication for the party to fully interact and intelligently examine the documents. And with that ruling the Commission could not proceed with this hearing” unless the pre-requisites are complied with.

Lawyers representing the provincial government and lawyer-intervenors were able to convince ERC presided over by Atty. Mislang to rule in their favor for what they called company’s lapses in procedural requirements.

Atty. John Mitchell Boiser and Atty. Peter Iman Mende representing the provincial government and Atty. Nerio Zamora II and Atty. Doni Piquero and certified public accountant Bebiano Inting as intervenors found that the company’s copies furnished to them did not have the signature and were not verified by its counsel. Zamora, Piquero and Inting are incumbent city councilors but did not officially represent the city government in the said hearing.

A careful perusal of the application including documents and annexes filed and submitted to ERC secretariat headed by clerk of court Atty. Rolando Gomez indicated that the said documents were not verified, ERC found out. This raised the question why the documents were not signed and notarized.

What also surprised the lawyers was that only a copy of such application in BLCI’s possession bore verification by the counsel. The city and province counsels also raised the concern whether or not what the company’s in possession is the same copies it furnished to them.

But BLCI counsel Michael Ancheta II argued that even the documents provided to the oppositors (city and province) were not verified as required by ERC rules of procedures still the same (documents) are furnished to them (oppositors). He also told the commission that he assumed the said documents submitted to the commission and furnished to the opposing parties were in order.

But Atty. Mislang told BLCI that the commission cannot rules based on assumption.

On publication of notice of application, aside from the newspapers, the company failed to get certifications from both city and province because the latter did not issue them, citing the said defect.

Citing ERC rules of procedures, BLCI thru Ancheta insisted that though the company fall short in securing the said certification the same (notice of publication) is still in order because its personnel executed a sworn statement to support that indeed it made public the said notice within the city and provincial bulletin boards.

Provincial board members Atty. Benjie Arcamo, Atty. Abeleon Damalerio and Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez preferred to be just observers while the hearing was going.

It will be recalled that both city and provincial governments expressed vehement opposition of BLCI’s application for electric power rates hike.

Both city and provincial officials pointed out earlier that the plan hike for electric consumption is sure to be a huge burden in addition to the unbilled water rates increase since 2006 for the city consumers. The company has already started to collect the said unbilled water rates added to the consumers’ monthly billing following the court ruling in favor of the BWUI.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=43708.0