ERC prodded to stop hearing Meralco plea

A lawyer opposing the rate hike proposal of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to immediately stop further proceedings on the utility’s rate unbundling petition.

Lawyer Jose Baldonado argued that Meralco has not filed the board resolution authorizing the filing of that application.

Baldonado, vice president of the Federation of Philippine Industries Inc., was joined in his motion by lawyers Rachel Pastores, representing Bayan and Gabriela, Jaime Nagrampa of Nasecore, and Ceferino Padua of LAMP, and Angelo Ocampo of the Consumers Union of the Philippines.

During the July 25 hearing, the ERC ordered Meralco to produce the board resolution after Baldonado discovered that it was not included in the records of the case.

In a subsequent hearing, Meralco submitted a special power of attorney (SPA) dated Dec. 21, 2001 and executed by Gil San Diego, the company’s senior assistant vice president and assistant corporate secretary, authorizing a certain Daniel Tagaza and Ivanna de la Peña to file with the ERC an application for approval of Meralco’s revised rate schedules.

Attached to that SPA was a secretary’s certificate signed by San Diego and dated March 28, 2001, citing an Oct. 23, 2000 board meeting of Meralco where San Diego and two others were designated to represent Meralco. Neither Tagaza nor De la Peña were mentioned in the board records, Baldonado said.