Baguio Electric Cooperative or BENECO has officially introduced the candidates for the first batch of elections of the Board of Directors (BOD) in a Kapihan sa Baguio last April 16, 2024.
The election for the Board of Directors of BENECO will push through for the first batch of elections this Saturday, April 20, 2024 where the second batch of elections will be held on September 21, 2024 as announced by BENECO. The participants for the first batch of elections will be from District 2, District 5, District 6, District 7, District 8, and District 10.
“Our elections were actually out of the schedule pursuant to our articles of cooperation and by laws. But with the approval of NEA (National Electrification Administration), there is a need now to go back to normalcy as far as the governance structure of the board of directors is concerned.” Atty. Delmar Carino, Chairman of the Screening Committee said.
Atty. Carino also mentioned that among the 18 who filed for candidacy, only eight (8) were selected and qualified where District 6 has no qualified candidate. Atty. Carino later mentioned the difficulties of the requirements .
“This is precisely the reason why these requirements were provided because we are dealing with a cooperative but which is highly technical, institutionally demanding and it demands a lot of financial appropriations.” Atty. Carino explained.
The candidates briefly introduced themselves along with their platforms. For District 2, Josephine “Josie” Aclopen Aclayan, running unopposed; for District 5, Claudio “Mr. Kollebeng” Isican Calugan and Pablo “Go” Banda-Ay Gomuad; for District 7, Joel Magciano Cervantes and Tyrone Tibong Diaz; for District 8, Abello Kollin Fernando, running unopposed; and for District 10, Edward Felipe Antonio and Wilfredo Campos Diano.
BENECO will be opening only one precinct for the districts with one candidate where they need at least one (1) vote to be included as a member of the Board of Directors. On the other hand, District 6 with no qualified candidates will either be holding another election within 30 days or will be included in the second batch of elections in September which will be consulted with the incoming Board of Directors and NEA.
The candidates encouraged the consumer-members to exercise their rights of suffrage. The precincts will be open from 8 AM to 3 PM on April 20. By Emmanuel Gregorio
