The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has taken over the management and operational control of the beleaguered Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) and has brought in a new general manager to lead in fixing its woes.
The NEA, which described the take over as intervening in the power co-op’s responsibilities to help resolve Palawan’s power supply problems, ordered engineer, Nelson Lalas, last December 10 to be PALECO’s project supervisor or acting general manager “effective immediately.”
In a news bulletin posted Friday, NEA administrator Edgardo Masongsong said the move is pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 269 as amended by Section 5 of Republic Act No. 10531 or the National Electrification Administration Reform Act of 2013.
“In the exigency of the service and pursuant to Sections 4 (e) and (j) of Presidential Decree No. 269 as amended by Section 5 of RA 10531, Engineer Lalas is hereby designated as Project Supervisor/Acting General Manager of Palawan Electric Cooperative effective immediately,” Masongsong’s office order stated.
Lalas’ designation will only end if a new general manager has already been confirmed by the NEA.
Among Lalas’ tasks is “to manage the day-to-day operations of PALECO to ensure the efficient delivery of electric service to the member-consumer-owners.”
He also has the “mandate” to approve or disapprove Board resolutions in consultation with concerned departments in the NEA.
Lalas is also “authorized to sign and countersign checks, withdrawal slips, and other banking transactions, as well as to perform other tasks that may be assigned to him for operational efficiency.”
PALECO currently has three applicants vying to fill up the position of general manager — Cesar Joseph R. Baloloy, Alladin P. Cruz, and Gonzalo G. Ong Jr., who are now undergoing the selection process set forth by PALECO and the NEA.
Based on available information online, from a news article posted by Bombo Radyo Philippines, Lalas figured in August 2018 in a controversy as general manager of the Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative (CASURECO) 2 in Naga City.
The news cited the call for him to be kicked out as general manager of CASURECO-2 for failure to implement several power projects on time.
Jeffrey Tan-Endriga, chairman of the board of directors of PALECO, said Saturday that they will contest NEA’s move for takeover through a position paper. )[PNA)
“We will send a position paper regarding this, particularly on the responsibilities that Lalas was given. What is the basis for giving him the power to approve or disapprove Board resolutions? The general manager, under our setup, sits in the body but he doesn’t have any voting power, he only has speaking rights,” Endriga said.
He said the power co-op’s BOD has the legal position to refuse the takeover because it is not “ailing.”
What it has is a “technical problem” that could have been resolved had their capital expenditures (CAPEX) been approved early by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
