ESAMELCO withdraws application for P757M loan; vows to re-file later

By MEDORA NB QUIRANTE
February 18, 2012

BORONGAN CITY  –  As questions on technicalities hounded the first hearing on its P757M loan application, ESAMELCO had to pull back before the battle could even begin.

“We did not even have the chance to present the projects that would have convinced the consumers that the loan would improve our services,” Engr. Greg Lim-it, ESAMELCO Technical Chief said after the hearing on February 17 wrapped up.

Apart from government officials and interest groups, close to 200 consumer-members flocked to ESAMELCO’s main office in Borongan City for the hearing as talks of the cooperative’s loan application and a subsequent power rate adjustment spread like wildfire.

“We came because we wanted to let them know that we can’t afford an increase,” Jim Vinas, president of the 300-member Borongan Tricycle Drivers and Operators Association said.

But the legal battle expected to ensue between counsels for the electric cooperative and local government units that filed petitions for intervention was cut short when ESAMELCO legal counsel Atty. Jose Michael Edwin Amancio, a few minutes into the afternoon, announced that the application was being withdrawn.

Atty. Mae Mercado-Bacsal, legal counsel for the City Government of Borongan and Atty. Maureen Obon, legal counsel for the Provincial Government of Eastern Samar, during the morning session questioned ESAMELCO’s supposed compliance with the pre-filing requirements set forth by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Both lawyers manifested that although a copy of the application was received, its annexes were not attached after Amancio presented a certification/affidavit of service issued by Borongan City Council Secretary Antonio Sacmar.

“The secretary may have issued the certification but he is not a member of the board and nor is he authorized to act in its behalf,” City Councilor Jennifer Anacio said.

For its part, the Provincial Board, through board secretary Franklin Robedizo confirmed that the certification it issued only mentioned the receipt of the application but not that of the appendices.

Had ESAMELCO’s loan application been approved, consumer-members would have to pay P1.173 per kilowatt-hour for the Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capital Expenditures shown as RFSC rate on the electric bill; a 179% increase from the present rate of P0.4004.

According to officer-in-charge Marilen Reyes the loan is needed to finance the upgrade of the electric cooperative’s facilities including its electrical transformers.

“With the increasing demand for power and with our consumers’ increasing power use, we fear that our transformers might exceed their capacity limit soon. We would want an upgrade to be in place before that happens,” Reyes said.

ESAMELCO, in the next two to three months will go to the 22 municipalities and one city in the province to discuss the projects it plans to undertake related to its P757M loan.

“We want to get our consumer-members’ comments on the projects and we want to get their support,” Lim-it said.