Director Roberto Montelibano of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative board yesterday said he and other officials were not aware that an actual and physical disconnection to the Bacolod City government offices was effected by the power firm Thursday.

Montelibano said he, together with CENECO directors Luis Cuenca and Edward Gasambelo, were waiting for a board meeting to start that day, when they found out that a disconnection was already in effect at City Hall.

He said the decision was made by other members of the CENECO Board of Directors, but not by them.

CENECO disconnected power to City Hall and other government offices in the city at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, citing the city’s failure to pay its accounts with the power firm.

As a result, the city revoked CENECO’s Mayor’s Permit and padlocked its Administrative Office for its failure also to pay its franchise taxes and real property taxes to the city.

Montelibano said Resolutions 8211 and 8112 that were passed by the CENECO Board on July 8, 2008 regarding power disconnection to the Bacolod City offices, had been overridden by a compromise agreement signed by the city and CENECO at the sala of Judge Gorgonio Ybañez on Oct. 31, 2008.

He said resolutions 8211 and 8212 were taken up again during the second meeting of the CENECO Board on Dec. 16. During the meeting, however, it was stressed that if disconnection of the city’s electric connection should be made, proper notice must be given first. 

Montelibano also said two other notices of disconnection were sent to the city on Dec. 19, 2008 and January 5, 2009 but they did not state when they would be implemented.

He also said he and some other officials believe the disconnection of power to City Hall should have been deliberated on by the board.

NEA ARRANGED DIALOG

Meanwhile, Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he thanked National Electrification Administrator Edith Bueno who called him up Friday and started to arrange for a dialog between the city and CENECO at the Bishop’s Plaza to resolve the problem.

He said Bueno asked him to send a representative so he sent City Administrator Roger Balo. He said that he wrote her about the incident, and stressed that what the city had ordered closed was only the Administrative Office of CENECO, he added.

Leonardia also said that, during the meeting, they discussed the government center and he said he is glad that the title is not a regular requirement and they may submit a copy of the contract. “We expect that CENECO will abide with this,” he said.

The CENECO president had earlier insisted that they would not supply power to the new center unless the title to the lot is submitted.

The city, however, pointed out that even squatters were being allowed connections by the power company.

Balo is preparing all the requirements for the application for regular electric connection to the government center, Leonardia said. The temporary power connection of the new government center was also reconnected during the weekend, he said.

City Legal Officer Allan Zamora said the compromise agreement signed by the city and CENECO Friday is not a legal document, but simply an agreement between the two top executives of both parties.

All the conditions in it are only reiterations of the conditions in the compromise agreement entered into by the city with CENECO approved by Judge Ybañez, except for the undertaking of CENECO to accept the application of the city for the electrification of the government center, he said.

Councilor Dindo Ramos said the compromise agreement signed Friday, although not notarized, is connected to the main agreement between the city and CENECO, which the Sangguniang Panlungsod had authorized the mayor to sign and was ratified by it.

Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairman of the Committee on Finance and Appropriations, said that if the mayor will request for an appropriation of P1.1 million, as balance of the city’s current account with CENECO, he will not interpose any objection.*CGS

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