An overwhelming majority of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative member-consumers have so far voted yes to the CENECO-Primelectric Holdings Inc. (PHI) joint venture agreement (JVA), partial plebiscite results showed Sunday, August 20.
There were 67,562 or 91 percent who voted yes to the JVA on June 24 and 25 and August 19 and 20, with four more plebiscite dates set on August 26 and 27 and September 2 and 3, Arnel Lapore, CENECO acting general manager, said.
There were 6,601 or 9 percent who voted no to the JVA as of Sunday, he added.
The CENECO eligible voters are 177,737.
Three Roman Catholic bishops in Negros Island, in a joint pastoral statement issued Saturday, questioned the JVA and called on government to step in with the needed financial assistance to ensure that CENECO retains its autonomy as a cooperative.
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza and Kabankalan Bishop
Louie Galbines said the franchise to own and operate a system for distribution of electricity in the cities of Bacolod, Silay, Talisay and Bago, and the towns of Murcia, and Don Salvador Benedicto in Negros Occidental was given to CENECO as a cooperative.
They noted that CENECO’s has stated that it is “in dire need of immediate financing for the implementation of critical capital expenditure projects which are needed to lower its systems losses and improve reliability of its system.”
CENECO has thus resorted to a private company, PHI, to provide the needed capital and financial resources, thereby creating a JVA called the Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC). The share distribution in this proposed JVCo is 30 percent for CENECO and 70 percent for PHI, the, the bishops added.
“This move has raised many concerns from various groups led by the CENECO members-consumers-owners (MCO) federation. They question the motives behind the move and the unacceptable manner by which the JVA was brought to existence,” the bishops said.
“There are doubts on who benefits and who suffers from this move. There are fears that this could be a step towards the disempowerment of member-consumer-owners and that this may lead to privatization,” the bishops added.
They asked whether the JVA with PHI is the only solution to the problem.
The distribution of the shares is in favor of PHI and the idea of being a cooperative might dissipate, the bishops added.
“Whenever a resource is privatized, we turn it into a commodity subject to the laws of the market, disabling us from determining prices, as well as lessening our influence on the management,“ the bishops said.
They said electricity is not a commodity, it is a public utility for the common good, and should not be subject to profit-driven interests.
“We challenge CENECO to be a truly authentic cooperative. CENECO’s inability to fulfill its mandate of providing inexpensive and reliable electricity for its constituents speaks of an internal problem. From the management’s own admittance of inefficiency, there is need for change in its organizational system, and conversion in its organizational culture. We urge CENECO to listen and foster closer cooperation with the unions to make these changes happen,” the bishops said.
The bishops said they encourage consumers to realize that they are members and owners of CENECO, and step up and be more actively engaged in demanding transparency and accountability.
“We exhort you to study the terms of the JVA in careful detail and make reasoned judgments on their impact and consequences. Make your opinions count by registering your vote in the scheduled plebiscite,” the bishops said.
“Be vigilant and proactive in ensuring that the plebiscite is done in an honest, fair, and peaceful manner,” they added
“May we enter into the plebiscite guided by sound principles that lead us to attain the common good”, the bishops said.
CEENECO ANSWERS
Lapore said he respects the opinion and concern of the bishops on the JVA.
The motive for the JVA is noble, it is not intended to prejudice CENECO but to enhance the services that consumers truly deserve, Lapore said.
“We envision a modernized Ceneco able to respond to the needs of Bacolod and its nearby cities and municipalities as they grow,” he said.
“We are certain that the joint venture will bring better service to the consumers. We believe that the NEA (National Electrification Administration) will give a green signal to this joint venture agreement after it conducts a review,” Lapore said.
It will be Congress that will then have the final say whether or not to grant a franchise or not to the new joint venture company, he added.
Lapore said he was not aware of complaints by some Ceneco member consumers that when they went to vote at the plebiscite this weekend they were told that proxy votes on their behalf had already been made.
“There may have been some miscommunication that needs to be verified. If there are complaints we will look into t
them, he said.
Meanwhile, the CENECO JVA Over-All Plebiscite Committee on Sunday evening released the following vote results:
June 24:
Yes – 13,587 (78 percent)
No – 3,748 (22 percent)
June 25:
Yes – 8,087 (78 percent )
No – 2,319 (22 percent)
August 19:
Yes – 24,641 (99 percent)
No – 284 (1 percent)
August 20:
Yes – 21,247 (99 percent)
No – 250 (1 percent )
Total:
Yes – 67,562 (91 percent)
No – 6,601 (9 percent )
Total voter turn-out so far has been 74,163 or 42 percent of the 177,737 eligible voters.*