BAGUIO CITY – Member-consumer-owners of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) petitioned President Rodrigo R. Duterte to cause the immediate removal and replacement of the members for the National Electrification Administration–Board of Administrators (NEA-BOA) for having grossly violated NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035 in the selection of the general manager of the electric cooperative when it insisted in appointing an unqualified and not recommended applicant for the said coveted position.
During the 40th annual general membership assembly (AGMA), thousands of MCOs who were physically present and those online overwhelmingly approved the matter as discussed to ensure that appropriate action will be done by the President to cause the removal and replacement of the erring NEA-BOA members.
Earlier, MCO and Benguet boardmember and Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Recto Alawas manifested during the assembly that the people of Baguio City and Benguet are peace-loving people and BENECO was peaceful until the NEA-BOA came out with actions that caused chaos and divisiveness among the MCOs, the lawyers and the members of the Board of Directors which should not be the case in the first place if the NEA-BOA members strictly adhered to the very guidelines governing the selection of the BENECO general manager.
Worst, the questionable NEA-BOA resolutions that insisted in the appointment of an unqualified and not recommended applicant to the position of general manager of BENECO resulted in demoralization among the employees, the MCOs and the general public at large as evidenced by their remarks on social media.
The AGMA resolution pointed out that the MCOs know that the ongoing controversy over the position of BENECO general manager was caused by the wrong implementation of the NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035 by no less than the NEA-BOA when it issued NEA-BOA Resolution NO. 2021-47 endorsing to the BENECO Board of Directors the applicant that garnered the highest score for appointment to the position of general manager and NEA-BOA Resolution 2021-71 appointing the unqualified and not recommended applicant as BENECO general manager.
According to the resolution, the BENECO board, management, employees as well as the MCOs are now locked in a vicious and protracted battle with the NEA-BOA practically on all fronts resulting from the questionable NEA-Boa resolutions that appointed the unqualified and not recommended applicant for the said sensitive position of general manager.
The resolution asserted that the NEA-BOA members that should be immediately removed and replaced with more competent ones include energy Undersecretary Emmanuel Juanesa, who is serving as the alternate chairman of the NEA-BOA, and members Agustin Maddatu, Rene Gonzales and Cerilo Badilles.
Firm with its stand that it is the Board of Directors that should appoint the general manager, the members of the board outrightly rejected the aforesaid questionable NEA-BOA resolutions and directed Engr. Melchor S. Licoben to sign his performance management contract for the position of general manager pursuant to Resolution No. 2020-90 that appointed him to the said post effective May 1, 2020.
By HENT
Photo by Armando M. Bolislis
