BAGUIO CITY – The chairman of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) was formally charged before the Office of the Ombudsman for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service following his public statement jointly issued with the Board of Administrators of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) stating, among others, that lawyer Ana Marie Paz Rafael is the legitimate general manager of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO).
In a 2-page affidavit complaint, BENECO general manager Engr. Melchor S. Licoben accused CDA chairman Joseph Encabo and Administrator Emmanuel Juaneza of the NEA of knowingly and maliciously disregarding Resolution No. 213 adopted by the House of Representatives on the issue of the electric cooperative’s rightful general manager.
Under the House Resolution, it urged the NEA Board of Administrators to strictly adhere to and comply with the provisions of NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035 on the selection of general managers of electric cooperatives, particularly in the case of BENECO, and to stake the appropriate actions to fulfill the mandate of the NEA as specified in Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended, as the government agency with supervisory powers and functions over electric cooperatives.
Further, it recommended that the NEA-BOA revoke Resolution No. 2021-47 appointing Rafael as the BENECO general manager considering that there was no vacancy in the said position.
The House Resolution reminded NEA to avoid repeated ultra-vires acts, specifically in the selection of the BENECO general manager and to maintain the status quo on retaining the current officer-in-charge of BENECO under pain of contempt until all the issues on the selection of BENECO general manager have been resolved.
Licoben argued that by his action related to the joint statement issued misleading member-consumer-owners (MCOs), Encabo failed to live up to the standards required by the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards Act or Republic Act 6713.
Specifically, he claimed that Encabo failed to live up to the standard that as a public official, he must at all times respect the rights of others, and must refrain from doing acts contrary to law, good morals, public order, public safety and public interest.
According to him, by issuing the joint statement, Encabo knowingly and feloniously disrespected his right as the legitimate BENECO general manager as well as the rights of MCOs who have questioned the legality of Rafael’s politically motivated appointment.
He emphasized that Encabo should have known or ought to know that there is a pending case in his office involving the issue of BENECO’s rightful general manager. Encabo reportedly pre-empted the resolution of the said case by his public statement.
Licoben asserted that by his public statement, Encabo allegedly acted with manifest partiality in recognizing Rafael as BENECO’s general manager and in making it appear that he is an impostor to the said position which he occupied over 2 years ago or way ahead of the assailed NEA-BOA resolution.
The BENECO general manager stipulated that by his public pronouncement, Encabo gave unwarranted advantage or preference to Rafael thereby casting a cloud of doubt in the legality of his action as general manager.
More importantly, Licoben pointed out that by his public pronouncement, Encabo blatantly disregarded the mandate of House Resolution No. 213 which was passed by the House of Representatives in September 2021 to put order in the electric cooperative.
On April 21, 2020, the members of the BENECO Board of Directors unanimously approved Resolution No. 2020-090 that appointed Licoben as the general manager of BENECO vice the late Gerardo P. Verzosa invoking option No. 2 in the selection of general manager as contained under NEA Memorandum Circular No. 2017-035.
Under the said option, the members of the BENECO Board of Directors are empowered to select from among the qualified officers the next general manager, provided that there are qualified officers who deserve to be appointed to the said post, thus, in the said case, Licoben was qualified for the same being the assistant general manager pursuant to BENECO’s approved succession plan that passed through the NEA-BOA.
Despite the existence of the appointment, the embattled NEA-BOA still proceeded in conducting the assailed selection process that was reportedly aimed at favoring Rafael to be appointed to the said position.
The appointment made by the NEA-BOA caused the prevailing leadership impasse in the electric cooperative which remains unsettled at this point considering the pendency of a petition for certiorari filed by Licoben and BENECO board chairman lawyer Esteban Somngi before the Court of Appeals (CA) that assailed the questionable NEA-BOA selection process.
