Legarda warns of hike in electricity rates

KNP vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda warned yesterday that the administration’s "emasculation" of the National Electric Administration (NEA) through an "illegal reorganization" would further increase the cost of electricity in the rural areas.

Legarda issued the warning following reports that hundreds of NEA employees have been dismissed to enable the administration to use the agency’s savings for election campaign purposes.

Meanwhile, dismissed NEA employees also disclosed that sophisticated communications equipment of the NEA are missing and could be used by the administration to cheat in the May 10 election.

Legarda urged the Commission on Elections to investigate the reports, pointing out that the Comelec is mandated by the Constitution to ensure clean, orderly and honest elections.

Legarda slammed the administration for "illegally dismissing" over 600 employees of the DEA last December in violation of civil service laws and regulations protecting the security of tenure of government employee.

"In the absence of any law reorganizing the NEDA," said Legarda, "the administration cannot just dismiss the employees of the NEA without cause." Of the 422 plantilla positions in the NEA, only 256 have been filled up with the approval of the Department of Budget and Management, according to Noel Sanchez, former NEA administrator.

The dismissed employees, who went to the Senate office of Legarda to lodge their complaint, charged that the mass dismissal of the NEA was a political ploy of the administration to take hold of its sophisticated telecommunications equipment, with stations throughoout the country, to cheat in the elections. At the same time, they said that the administration also apparently wanted to take hold of NEA funds, especially its savings, to augment its political funding.

Legarda, further expressed alarm over reports that with the encouragement of the administration private power firms were taking over electric cooperatives throughout the country through management contracts that would eventually add to the cost of electricity.

Under the management contracts, the private firms were charging management fees of up to five percent which would be eventually charged against the consumers.

"This would be a replication of the notorious independent power producers’ contracts that have caused unreasonable increases in electric consumer rates in Metro Manila and surrounding areas," said Legarda. "Now what will be affected are municipal and barangay electric services that are run by electric cooperatives. Their privatization would cause another surge in electrical services, causing more suffering upon our people."