The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill granting the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) a fresh 25-year franchise to operate and maintain electric distribution systems in Baguio City and 13 municipalities in Benguet, recently before 4 PM.
With only two weeks left in the 19th Congress, 21 senators voted in favor of the measure with no abstentions or negative votes. The vote comes six days after the Senate passed House Bill 10483 on second reading last June 3.
After the concurrence of the lower chamber, the bill will be transmitted to Malacañang for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signature.
“This is a crucial victory for our electric cooperative. It is an undeniable assurance that BENECO will remain owned by our member-consumer-owners and we can continue to serve Baguio and Benguet for another 25 years,” said BENECO General Manager Melchor Licoben.
The cooperative’s current 50-year franchise is set to expire in March 2028. The renewed franchise will allow BENECO to continue servicing Atok, Bakun, Bokod, Buguias, Itogon, Kabayan, Kapangan, Kibungan, La Trinidad, Mankayan, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay.
“We finally got it! BENECO is now secure for the next 25 years and can now focus on other needs and major improvements of our electric cooperative, like venturing into renewable energy. These have been in the pipeline for quite some time, but we needed to focus first in securing our franchise,” George Dumawing, Jr, BENECO Board president, said.
The bill has passed all stages, we now wait for the signature of the president to finally make the bill a law. Since this kind of measure is not really controversial, we don’t expect the president to veto. We expect him to sign HB 10384 into law, Dumawing explained.
House Bill 10483 is the result of the consolidation of separate bills filed by Baguio Rep. Mark Go and Benguet Rep. Eric Go Yap. The measure passed the House of Representatives in August 2024 with unanimous support—202 votes in favor and none against.
Power bloc representatives including Presley De Jesus (PHILRECA Party-list) and Sergio Dagooc (APEC Party-list) also supported the bill and lobbied for its approval in the lower chamber.
Senator Rafael Tulfo, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, endorsed the bill’s passage in the June 3 second reading.
Consumer groups welcomed the development. Dane Ducayag, president of EC-MCO United Inc., called the passage a “major win” for community-led energy initiatives. By Laarni S. Ilagan
