National consumer rights, energy advocacy, labor, and multi-sectoral groups staged a protest against the joint venture agreement (JVA) of Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) and Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) at the National Electrification Administration (NEA) office in Quezon City on Monday, July 3.
They claimed in a press release that the CENECO Office was taken over by the newly-elected interim Board of Directors after the Member-Consumer-Owners (MCO) Federation ousted the incumbent BOD through a unanimous vote.
Several groups accompanied Luke Espiritu, legal counsel of Laban ng mga Mamamayan sa Monopolyo at Pribatisasyon (LAMP), filed resolutions from the Special Meeting of Members calling for the removal of all current CENECO Board of Directors due to betrayal of duties, the creation of an Interim Board of Directors, and the junking of the JVA and its plebiscites, the press release said.
“The JVA plebiscites have moved forward since the CENECO takeover last June 23, as the now-defunct BOD have continued to act without legitimate authority, blatantly dismissing the unanimous decision of its MCOs, and acting as if they’re still in charge,” said Grid Alila, convenor of Konsyumer Negros.
“The appeal for an extension of the voting period is highly suspicious,” said Ernie Pineda, president of the MCO Federation.
“This is a mere ploy to get more time to influence a bigger turnout for ‘yes’ votes, especially through widespread political endorsements who only parry the interests of the people for their own gain but have never shown interest in addressing real concerns of consumers,” he added.
“Referring to the group of Pineda, NEA has spoken that they are impostors and fake. As far as we are concerned, we will continue to recognize the legitimacy of the duly elected CENECO Board of Directors, led by Board President Jojit Yap,” Jonathan Cabrera, PHI spokesman said.*