Security at the Central Negros Electric Cooperative in Bacolod City was was tripled following the entry into its building of persons claiming to be members of the CENECO Interim Board of Directors at noon Friday, June 23, its acting general manager Arnel Lapore said.
Ernesto Pineda, CENECO Member-Consumer-Owners Federation president, said more than 100 persons joined a special members meeting Thursday and elected six CENECO board members.
The new board members then elected him as president of the interim CENECO board, Pineda said.
Pineda said aside from him elected to the interim board are Marina Trinidad, Roger Francisco, Jose William Cabus, Carry Palabrica and Marivic Espende.
They replaced the existing CENECO board members for betrayal of trust for entering into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Primelectric Holdings Inc. Pineda said.
He said they entered the CENECO building at noon Friday to hold a board meeting but the board room was locked.
They instead held their meeting outside the board room and elected the officers of the board and appointed members of a management committee to run CENECO, Pineda said.
The JVA is illegal, he claimed.
Lapore said the existing CENECO board and Council of Managers of CENECO condemned what they called the creation of the illegal interim board by usurpers.
He said an investigation will be conducted and administrative action will be taken against CENECO employees who “collaborated and conspired” with the group of Pineda.
Lapore said Pineda’s claim that he is CENECO Member-Consumer-Owners Federation president is not even acknowledged by CENECO and the National Electrification Administration.
The consumers group, Power Watch, also condemned the illegal take over, Lapore said.
The Council of Managers of CENECO led by its president Leo Arimas in a statement issued Friday denounced “the illegal and unauthorized acts of Mr. Ernesto Pineda in issuing the memorandum addressed to all the department managers/officers of CENECO relative to the appointment of the Interim Board and creation of Management Committee”.
“The move is a clear usurpation of authority and a blatant disrespect to the legitimate and incumbent Board of Directors, duly elected by the member consumer owners as well as the NEA-appointed Acting General Manager of CENECO”, the statement added.
The statement said they collectively stand in support and recognition of the incumbent Board of Directors under the leadership of CENECO president Jojit Yap and Lapore as acting general manager.*