City officials recently commended and congratulated Engr. Melchor S. Licoben on his appointments as the full-pledged general manager of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO), one of the country’s top performing electric cooperatives over the past several decades.
In a resolution, local legislators stated that the appointment of Engr. Licoben as the general manager puts an end to the leadership impasse that challenged the electric cooperative over the past two years.
BENECO is a non-stock, non-profit service-oriented public utility company granted the franchise by the National Electrification Commission on March 20, 1978, the sole company to operate an electric light and power service in Baguio City and Benguet.
Further, it is one of the top performing electric cooperatives in the country having achieved a Class AAA status before it was downgraded to Class C following the leadership impasse and now relegated to Class AA.
The council recalled that in the early morning of October 18, 2021, heavily armed personnel of the Philippine National Police, escorted the former National Electrification Administration (NEA) Project Supervisor, swooped into the BENECO headquarters and forcibly took over the operation of the electric cooperative that resulted to a temporary halt in its normal and regular operations.
On October 20, 2021, thousands of member-consumer-owners (MCOs) marched from Session Road up to the BENECO headquarters and peacefully re-installed the officials and employees that brought back the electric cooperative’s operations amidst the leadership crisis that confronted the electric cooperative.
The BENECO Task Force and interim Board of Directors was then composed by the NEA to smoothly administer the cooperative until the appointment of a full-pledged general manager.
Moreover, the Task Force appointed incumbent Assistant General Manager Licoben as the duly-elected general manager following the strong recommendation from the NEA being the most qualified and lone applicant for the said post.
The council claimed there was a very thorough process conducted by the NEA that resulted to the appointment of Licoben. They conducted tests, background checks and sought other clearances before actually releasing the names of the qualified candidates who passed all of the process and Licoben ended up as the highest pointer in all categories that erased all doubts as to his appointment.
The body pointed out that through Engr. Licoben’s leadership, consumers expected for better services and the realization of BENECO’s vision.