THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it has returned to “functional and unhampered” operations with the installation of an acting chairperson.
“Frontline services of the ERC will continue to be fully operational, ensuring that the concerns of consumers are promptly addressed and assistance is readily provided to the public,” the commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ERC announced the formal assumption of office of former Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres as the officer-in-charge chairperson and chief executive officer of the commission.
In a memorandum dated Sept. 20, the Office of the Executive Secretary designated Mr. Andres to temporarily lead the ERC.
“I will perform my functions as ERC Officer-in-Charge Chairman with utmost fairness and independence. ERC will act expeditiously on all pending matters with a view to foster competition and ultimately drive down the price of electricity and protect consumers,” Mr. Andres said.
Mr. Andres convened the management committee and impressed upon it the need for expeditious action on all pending ERC matters.
Mr. Andres is a lawyer and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of the Philippines.
He is a career executive service officer eligible since 2009 and completed his directorship training with the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Andres took his post more than two weeks after suspended chair Monalisa C. Dimalanta vacated her office.
Ms. Dimalanta said that the OIC appointment is “a welcome development” that will allow the commission to resume the performance of its statutory duties, according to a statement following the announcement from the Presidential Communications Office last week.
The Ombudsman suspended Ms. Dimalanta for six months over a complaint filed by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms, Inc. regarding the commission’s alleged failure to act on the rate reset of power distributor Manila Electric Co.
Ms. Dimalanta faces investigation for alleged grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, and gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Ms. Dimalanta has said she remains hopeful that the Ombudsman will resolve her motion for reconsideration and lift the preventive suspension “at the soonest time possible.”
The ERC is an independent regulatory body performing quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative and administrative functions in overseeing the electric industry. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera