Several groups yesterday claimed there is need to protect the
welfare of the consumers of Central Negros Electric Cooperative
after the preventive suspension by the National Electrification
Administration Board of five CENECO officials, including board president
Eddie Guillem.
Moven Ligahon, secretary general of Freedom from Debt Coalition-Negros,
said they laud the preventive suspension order and called on the
NEA Administrative Committee to impose appropriate penalty for those
found liable for violations.
During the AdCom hearing in Bacolod last year, FDC-Negros
chairman Romeo Lavilla had sought the preventive suspension and
the subsequent dismissal of the CENECO officials involved in the
alleged illegal transactions.
NEA placed under a 30-day preventive Guillem, officer-in-charge
Noriel Bermudez, board vice president Jobert Tagobader, secretary
Gregorio Duremdes, and treasurer Gerardo Solas pending the resolution
of the administrative charges they are facing before NEA.
With the suspension of its key officials, the NEA management
team has named Eddie Adlao as project supervisor for CENECO.
The Partido ng Manggagawa called the NEA action "right and
laudable" for the welfare of the CENECO consumers in a statement
it issued.
The group said it stands on the spirit of good governance in
managing the cooperative which its directors had neglected.
Felipe Levy Gelle, secretary-general of BAYAN-Negros, however,
said it seems the suspension of Guillem and four others is not enough
considering the gravity of the charges they are facing and amount
of money involved.
The administrative charges against the suspended CENECO officials
involve, among others, the issues on the contract executed by Guillem
and Bermudez with supplier Power Star Inc. using the Reinvestment
Fund and the alleged irregularity in the contract executed with
both Power Star Inc. and Pazifik Power Inc.
The five CENECO officials were suspended almost five months
after the NEA AdCom conducted an investigation on the adverse audit
findings on CENECO, covering the period Jan. 1, 2002 to Dec. 31,
2005.
The NEA Board said that "on the basis on the NEA-Electric Cooperatives
Audit Department audit report and on the documents submitted before
the AdCom, the charges against the respondents involve grave misconduct
and open defiance to NEA Policy, Order and Issuances, with a corresponding
penalty of removal on the first offense."*NLG
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