Daneco-NEA only to manage Daneco in DOE-initiated multi-party agreement

aug 24, 2013

By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

 

In dramatic turn of events, an agreement was reached by key stakeholders to put the conflict- and debt-plagued Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative into one management only and it is the Daneco-National Electrification Administration which should and not the Daneco-Cooperative Development Authority starting the coming September 1. 

 

In a conference initiated by the Department of Energy and NEA board chairman Carlos Jericho Petilla last Friday at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao , governors, congressmen, mayors, CDA officials and the officials of the two electric coop factions engaged in a hostile two-year row agreed to put Daneco’s management under the Daneco-NEA entity in obedience to the existing Writ of Preliminary Injunction (WPI) earlier ruled by the Court of Appeals.

 

Petilla informed conference attendees on the need to have one management to immediately respond to the rising power supply payables of Daneco, stressing that there is an urgent need to avert Daneco suffering the same fate with the Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco) which earlier had its power disconnected by Power Sectors Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

 

Attending the conference were CDA Chairman Emmanuel M. Santiaguel, NEA Administrator Editha Bueno, Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario and his Vice Gov. Victorio Suaybaguio Jr, Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy and his Vice Gov. Manuel Zamora, Comval Cong. Maricar Zamora and Cong. Rommel Amatong, Davao del Norte Cong. Antonio Lagdameo Jr, 1-CARE partylist representatives Edgardo Masongsong and Michael Angelo Rivera, and the management and board officers of Daneco-NEA  and of Daneco-CDA.

 

Conference attendees also expressly agreed that both the factions would be subjected to a mandatory financial audit by an audit them to be composed of auditors from NEA and CDA, which would be continuing even after the Sept. 1 assumption of Daneco-NEA  as the sole management of Daneco. 

 

“A referendum would also be conducted on the second week of January 2014 to finally resolve whether Daneco’s member-consumers would opt to be stock cooperative or not, strictly following the law and its procedures on how to duly conduct a referendum on conversion of electric cooperatives,” said Gregorio Ybanez, chairman of the board of Daneco-NEA’s directors.  

 

Mayors present also agreed to campaign to member-consumers in their respective areas to pay to Daneco-NEA.

 

“With the expressed agreement, this means that Daneco-CDA will die a natural death because it can no longer function after August 31, 2013,” Ybanez added.

 

Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative (Amreco) president Sergio Dagooc hailed the agreement reached as the “ultimate solution” to pestering problem besetting Daneco.

 

The Daneco-CDA faction sprang up after NEA in April 2012 dismissed nine members of Daneco’s previous board of directors and former OIC general manager after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty. Those dismissed were initiating to convert Daneco into stock cooperative.

 

Daneco-CDA faction sought refuge under the CDA after it conducted its own series of referendum where they claimed the option of converting into stock cooperative won. It was was assailed in court by Daneco-NEA.

 

The Court of Appeals 23rd Division ruled last May 10, 2013 recognizing solely Daneco-NEA and its officers as the legitimate representatives of Daneco pending resolution of an consolidated special proceeding case pertaining to the legality of Daneco-CDA  faction and its CDA registration.

DANECO covers the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley serving 160,601 member-consumers.

 

Once a top performing electric cooperative, it is now currently considered an ailing electric cooperative beset with myriad of problems because of the two factions competing.

 

It turns out, however, that Daneco-CDA is not paying its power obligations as it does not remit its collections to Daneco’s coffers, even while it is not recognized by other government agencies such as the Energy Regulatory Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

 

Since Daneco-CDA has not remitted its obligations for consolidation of payments, it is Daneco-NEA which pays power obligations but is unable to pay the full amount due to the situation.

 

To date, Daneco has an outstanding power accounts obligations to power suppliers PSALM, NCGP and Therma Marine amounting to over P300 million.  (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

BIR: “DANECO-NEA, not DANECO-CDA”

aug 7-13, 2013

The Bureau of Internal Revenue is only recognizing the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative under the supervision of the National Electrification Administration and not the so-called Daneco-CDA.
BIR-Tagum assistant revenue district officer Daisy Franco clarified that the entity Daneco under NEA has been recognized by the BIR since 1997 as evidenced by its legal papers from BIR Manila.
She informed Tagum City Council during the question hour in the last July 9 session.
She informed City Council members on session presided by Vice Mayor Geterito “Boyet” Gementiza saying, “It is better to pay to Daneco-NEA” than to Daneco-CDA because the former is the one recognized by the BIR.
The Sangguniang Panglungsod earlier invited the officials of BIR office in Tagum to shed light on the new controversy regarding the printing and issuance of new official receipts (ORs) which the BIR earlier gave authorization to what is comparatively called as Daneco-NEA.
The Daneco-CDA breakaway faction earlier questioned the BIR’s order to print and issue ORs to Daneco-NEA.
The faction broke away from the main group to convert into stock cooperative middle last year following purge by the NEA of its board and management officials due to abuse of authority.
It subsequently got a registration from Cooperative Development Authority, which was later on temporarily suspended and then lifted even as the faction including its officers and representatives have been stooped by a Writ of Preliminary Injunction (WPI) from the Court of Appeals to cease operating pending resolution of a consolidated case relating the CDA registration and legitimacy of the faction.
At press time, the Daneco-CDA faction has continued to operate and collect electricity bill payments from member-consumers evidently defying the CA’s WPI even as it reportedly has not yet paid any power obligations to power suppliers, PSALM and Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) since it broke away and started trying to swallow up the mother Daneco under NEA. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Davao Norte SP inquires status of two fighting electric coops

june 12, 2013By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban NewsThe Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Davao del Norte has managed to have the two sets of board of directors and management officials of two conflicting electric cooperatives see eye to eye each other and answer issues during its regular session Monday.

Presiding officer Vice Governor Victorio Suaybaguio Jr said during the session’s question hour that all the legislative department and Governor Rodolfo del Rosario wanted was to know the real situation of the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) and find solution to the problem for the good of the member-consumers in Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley.
Daneco has been wracked with two factions, comparatively called now as Daneco- NEA (National Electrification Administration) and Daneco-CDA (Cooperative Development Authority) fighting it out in courts and in their separate operations and collection activities for legitimacy and dominance for more than a year now.
“We are the one that is legal for being under the regulatory and disciplinary powers of NEA,” said Gregorio Ybanez, chairman of the board of directors of Daneco-NEA.
He ruled out suggestions of several board members for a compromise and instead charged Daneco-CDA’s officials to account for the millions of collection they made and remit these to Daneco-NEA.
He told SP members that Daneco-CDA should show their audited financial statements and should be liable for the acts they are continuing to make that create confusion to the people and exact huge damage to Daneco.
Ybanez said that Daneco-CDA is not paying its power obligations and it is Daneco-NEA that has been paying power suppliers which include PSALM, NGCP and Therma Marine.
Also, Daneco-NEA OIC general manager Benedicto Ongking informed officials in session that as of June 2013 their group was able to pay P437.93 million to the power generator PSALM but there is still a balance of the total payable amounting to P271.92 million.
From October 2012 to June 2013, Daneco as a whole had a total payable to PSALM amounting to P293.39 million, which was already restructured by PSALM to P274.99 with an interest of P18.4 million payable in three years, Ongking said.
“We can still pay power suppliers but not on due date, and (for this) we are incurring interest,” he said.
Ongking said that before the crisis came up Daneco used to have 95 percent collection efficiency rating in 2012.
But when the dispute with Daneco-CDA started, he added, the collection efficiency rating was down to 51 percent and further sank down to 42 percent in the succeeding months after typhoon Pablo, he said.
He bared that on the whole Daneco is saddled with P7.93 billion on total loans and obligations to power suppliers and various credit lines being amortized in various terms, about P5.5 billion of which is from PSALM.
“The financial requirement for these obligations stood at P209.98 million per month but our average cash collection was only P154.37 million, thus a deficit of P55.6 million, from August 2012 to November 2012,” he said.
Ybanez said that runaway interests that mount Daneco’s debt can be still be met head on if Daneco-CDA dissolves itself.
On the other hand, Abenir Labja, chairman of the board of directors of Daneco-CDA, told SP members that they would continue operating and asked Daneco-NEA officials for unity and reconciliation.
Asked by Board Member Shirley Aala if Daneco-CDA has been paying power supply obligations, he said that records showed that they paid P34.10 million to NGCP, a State-controlled firm in charge in the business of power grid and transmission.
As to Daneco-CDA’s collection, Labja said they are collecting an average of P10-11 million monthly, which “represents about 5.5 percent of Daneco’s total power consumption.”
He said the bulk of the balance of the collections “are still in the hands of the power consumers” treating those collected by Daneco-NEA as still receivables.
He said Daneco-CDA’s legality came up with the May 2012 referenda where member-consumers voted for a conversion of stock cooperative under CDA.
He said that the legality is given a boost when CDA lifted the temporary suspension of their CDA’s registration last May 31, 2013.
But Daneco-NEA legal counsel Jeorge Rapista said that the lifting is not yet final and executory as Daneco-NEA submitted its motion for reconsideration to CDA last week.
He said that the Writ of Preliminary Injunction issued by the Court of Appeals from which the CDA Commission en banc based its earlier decision to suspend Daneco-CDA’s registration “is still valid, effective and existing”.
While noting of the CDA’s “highly irregular” and confusing turnaround, the lawyer said that, “it is Daneco-NEA that has been recognized by all government agencies and power suppliers.”
The session ended up only with pleas from several board members for the two parties to mend ways and resolve, but no agreement nor consensus between the two parties was reached.
Earlier, Engr. Godofredo Guya, NEA project supervisor to Daneco-NEA, expressed apprehension that the “problem of having two factions claiming for legitimacy” might put Daneco in a further mess.
He feared that power suppliers might cut off power supplies to Daneco as a whole and bring blackouts to the two provinces if increasing payables to power supply obligations would not be arrested. He said that already the NGCP had sent a disconnection notice to Daneco last month.
Guya estimated the Daneco-CDA has eaten up about 35 percent in the power bill collections of the hitherto one Daneco entity.
He said that both NEA and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), that fixes electric rates, only recognized Daneco-NEA and not Daneco-CDA.
Labja said that Daneco-CDA now is employing more than 174 personnel, fourteen of whom are regular employees who opted to stick it out with Daneco-CDA after it separated in July 2012. The faction hired some 160 job-order (JO) personnel.
Ybanez bared, on the other hand, that Daneco-CDA has 375 personnel, of whom more than 300 are old, original and regular employees, and the rest are JO personnel. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

NEA not recognizing consumers’ payments to Daneco-CDA faction

may 27, 2013

Power blackout feared in Davao Norte, Comval as Daneco’s debt balloons to P300 M
By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

MONTEVISTA, Compostela Valley- The National Electric Administration bared Monday in a press conference that it is not recognizing the payments made by member-consumers to the faction separating from the main Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco).

Engr. Godofredo Guya, NEA Project Supervisor told mediamen that the Daneco-CDA faction that is based in Tagum City has been undercharging power consumers by not including taxes, surcharges, penalties and others that were supposed to be charged in electric bills.

He said this is contrary to rules and regulations of the Energy Regulatory Commission saying that “what has been approved by the ERC should not be increased or decreased”.

He added that the main Daneco-NEA has already submitted this undercharging issue for resolution by ERC possibly next week.

He said that since the problem of seeing two Daneco agencies claiming to be legitimate started it turned out that it is only Daneco-NEA that has been paying obligations to power suppliers such as the PSALM, NCGP and Therma Marine.

He bared that because of this situation Daneco’s outstanding power bill obligations to the three have ballooned now to more than P300 million.

“We don’t want this situation to prolong as Daneco might suffer the same fate with the electric cooperatives in Abra and Albay where the provinces they cater have experienced total blackout,” he added.

“We will make disconnection to protect those paying religiously to Daneco-NEA,” he said referring to power consumers who opted to pay to the Daneco-CDA.

However, there have been many reported re-connection efforts made by Daneco-NEA to those delinquent members just disconnected of power by Daneco-CDA.

The NEA project supervisor said that Daneco-NEA will commence active disconnection activities by July after its “massive collection and massive information dissemination activities”.

He said that Daneco-NEA “is the only agency that is recognized by the ERC to collect fees.”

Moreover, Guya informed that NEA “is now too powerful” under Republic Act No. RA 10531 or the NEA Charter, which was signed into law by President Aquino just last May 7, 2013. Its implementing rules and regulations are now being drafted by NEA.

Under the law all electric cooperatives in the country, whether registered with the CDA, Securities and Exchange Commission or under NEA, would be under the supervision of NEA.

Guya said that under the new law Daneco-CDA would be forced to come to terms under NEA’s regulatory powers besides that Regional Trial Courts are already prohibited to hear any case relating electric cooperatives but only by the Court of Appeals.

He said that in looking into the collections made by Daneco-CDA officials they have to present audited financial statement and show how they spent what they collected.

“If you cannot correct this, in the future, we will be in total darkness,” he said as he appealed to public officials, member-consumers and other stakeholders to help Daneco resolve the complicated problem it is in now.

Daneco has some 125,000 member-consumers and services the whole province of Compostela Valley and most of the towns and cities of Davao del Norte except Panabo City and the towns of Carmen, Sto. Tomas and Braulio E. Dujali

On April 30, 2012 the NEA’s five -man Board of Administrators chaired by then Dept. of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras dismissed 9 members of the board of directors and former OIC GM Felix Hibionada after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty stemming from an administrative case filed by a group of member-consumers. Those dismissed were initiating to convert Daneco into stock cooperative under the CDA.

Starting July 2012, two factions of Daneco leadership have been warring against each other resulting to the emergence of Daneco-CDA and Daneco-NEA groups and two sets of managements, board of directors and collection activities.

The NEA-sacked officials trooping under Daneco-CDA stuck on and engaged in series of court and quasi-judicial battles while physically holding for more than six months the Daneco Tipaz office in Tagum City until the office was forcibly closed by a sheriff backed up by provincial police following a break-open-closure order from the Court of Appeals.

However, the Daneco-CDA faction subsequently set up their new office at the Philippine Cooperative Union (PCU) office in Barangay Magdum, Tagum City and continued their collection activities.

The faction set up collection center in Gaisano Mall of Tagum directly competing with the Daneco-NEA collection in the same mall. Also, it set up a collection units in several barangay halls in Tagum City.

The Daneco-CDA’s new officials elected in October. 21, 2013 general assembly, no longer those sacked ones, claimed that they still operate legally as the CDA registration was only temporarily suspended by the CDA and pending Supreme Court’s resolution of the appealed case relating to the Writ of Preliminary Injunction issued earlier by the Court of Appeals (CA).

Late last year RTC Tagum Judge Tehano Ang ruled an either pay to Daneco-CDA or to Daneco-NEA, which was subsequently assailed by the latter at the CA resulting to at least four special civil cases relating the legality of the CDA registration.

Last May 10, 2013, the 23rd Division of CA ruled to consolidate the special cases on certiorari and prohibitions pending before its sala to avoid further confusion and commanded the public respondent RTC Judge Ang to desist from conducting further proceedings in the civil actions.

The 23rd Division of CA has still to rule on this consolidated case at press time. – (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

Gov. RDR says referendum to decide for conflicts-plagued Daneco

dec. 27, 2012

Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario opined that member-consumers have to decide whether the 40-year old Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) would operate under the supervision of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) or under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

He told local reporters that “Daneco is supposed to be a coop and as such members have to decide.”

He added that the referendum “should be done properly, and should not be politicized.”

The governor said that he learned of the legal problems that came up when most of the members of the old set of board of directors were sacked by NEA due to an administrative case.

“Now there’s a new board appointed by NEA,” he said, adding that he hoped that this time the problem and conflict in Daneco would end.

Daneco has some 125,000 member-consumers and services the whole province of Compostela Valley and most of the towns and cities of Davao del Norte except Panabo City, the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) and the towns of Carmen, Sto. Tomas and Braulio E. Dujali.

Since July 2012, two factions of Daneco leadership have been warring against each other resulting to the emergence of Daneco-CDA and Daneco-NEA groups and two sets of managements, board of directors and collection activities.

The NEA-sacked officials trooping under Daneco-CDA stuck on and engaged in series of court and quasi-judicial battles while physically holding for more than six months the Daneco Tipaz office in Tagum City until the office was forcibly closed by a sheriff backed up by provincial police following a break-open-closure order from the Court of Appeals.

However, the Daneco-CDA faction subsequently set up their new office at the Philippine Cooperative Union (PCU) office in Barangay Magdum, Tagum City and continued their collection activities.

The faction set up collection center in Gaisano Mall of Tagum directly competing with the Daneco-NEA collection in the same mall. Also, it set up a collection unit in the premises of barangay hall of Barangay Visayan Village in the city.

The Daneco-CDA’s new officials, no longer those sacked ones, claimed that they still operate legally as the CDA registration was only temporarily suspended by the CDA and pending Supreme Court’s resolution of the appealed case relating to the Writ of Preliminary Injunction issued earlier by the Court of Appeals. – Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte

Despite CDA’s cease order, DANECO-CDA group holds special assembly

By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

Despite a standing cease-and-desist order from the Cooperative Development Authority, the  group of former officials of the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative who have been separately holding on Daneco’s Tagum office pushed through the special general assembly of member-consumers last Sunday, Oct. 21 at a school in Tagum City.

During the assembly the group known as Daneco-CDA, for wanting Daneco to be converted into a stock cooperative under CDA, secured support from Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Teddy Casiño, ex-Senator Agapito “Butz” Aquino and partylist groups from cooperative sector.

Guesting on the assembly, Rep. Casiño warned that the National Electrification Administration’s takeover to Daneco is a prelude to takeover by private corporations “which are only after for huge profits.” He said that under a cooperative scheme, Daneco could be exempt from paying taxes and other fees and would allow member-consumers to avail of cheaper power rates.

Aquino, on the other hand, stressed on the benefits of cooperativism and encouraged member-consumers to strengthen their cooperative.

The Daneco-CDA group has been the subject of a cease-and-desist order of the CDA after the latter temporarily suspended last Sept. 28 Daneco’s CDA registration following an amended writ of preliminary injunction issued earlier by the Court of Appeals against the same group.

However, Atty. Glenn Blair Carnicer, legal counsel of the Daneco-CDA group, charged that the CDA’s order as illegal, done without investigation and thus done without due process.

The group have been filibustering and physically defiant thus far to sheriff’s execution of court order based on the writ of preliminary injunction (WPI) issued by the Court of Appeal.

The first CA’s WPI last August affirmed the power of NEA to dismiss erring officials of an electric cooperative and the CA’s amended WPI in mid October prohibited “the respondents, their agents and representatives from exercising their powers as directors of Daneco.”

The special assembly, the second the group called this year, managed to elect new set of officers different to those 10 officials who were dismissed by NEA last July 30 after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty stemming from some 11 allegations in an administrative complaint filed by a group of member-consumers October last year.

The new set of officers vowed to pursue what the old set of officers started, bemuddling the issue on accountability and leadership of the group although the old set of officers and their political backers were suspected by the opposing group to have only introduced new leadership in trying to evade and skirt the NEA and court and quasi-judicial orders that hounded them.

Reports said the Daneco-CDA group claimed that the assembly held at Tagum National High School at Manga, Tagum City was attended by more than 13,000 members, but some estimated that there were only more 3,000 attendees.

The Daneco-NEA group called the special general assembly “illegal” owing to the standing orders from the CDA and the CA. Days before the assembly, the Daneco-NEA group reportedly distributed tens of thousands of leaflets to households asking member-consumers not to attend the activity. 

Sources said that the new officers were also elected “not by thousands but hundreds of votes” only from those attending the assembly, as the winning members of the board of directors representing the Mawab and Tagum districts had only garnered more than 40 votes and more than 200 votes, respectively. 

The special assembly is the latest that has drawn another tug-of-war between the two contesting groups.

Tuesday last week, the holding-out Daneco-CDA group deployed boom trucks barring the entrance and exit gates of Daneco Tagum office at Tipaz, Magugpo East, Tagum City as reportedly they were fearful of possible “forcible entry” of the Daneco-NEA group of officials who remain to control the Daneco main office in Montevista, Compostela Valley.

The deployment followed after Daneco-NEA group made a press conference. This group had tried twice in the past to make management takeover but the holding-out Daneco-CDA group foiled them.

The Daneco-CDA group has been physically occupying the Daneco Tagum office since July and has been holding on its management and separately collecting power bill payments.

The Daneco-NEA group through its legal counsel Jeorge Rapista, said in a press conference that CDA “found merits on the complaint” filed last June 25 by a group of member-consumers who wanted Daneco’s CDA registration revoked.

But Atty. Carnicer charged that the CDA’s order by its chairman Emmanuel Santiaguel ia “a void order, (which) has no force nor effect.”

Earlier, Carnicer bared that all of those dismissed by NEA were no longer performing their functions. Reynaldo Bandala, appointed OIC general manager, who was subject of the CA’s amended PWI was said to have been replaced lately by a Engr. Gerald Osorio, reportedly a pro-Daneco-CDA employee. On the other hand, Daneco-NEA has its different OIC GM, Benedicto Ongking, who was appointed by NEA.

As this developed, the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AMRECO), a group of all power cooperatives in Mindanao, had acknowledged Daneco under the supervision of NEA. Its president Sergio Dagooc told reporters last week that they were calling member-consumers of Daneco to patronize only the Daneco under NEA and not the Daneco-CDA group.

Last April 30, 2012 the NEA’s five-man Board of Administrators chaired by Dept. of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras dismissed all the 9 respondent directors and a former OIC GM after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty.

Dismissed were board president Dean Briz, board treasurer Ananias Darjan Jr, and director-members Brendo Ceniza, Miguel Fermil, Roberto Binasbas, Eugenio Ramonida, Roman Calicdan, Roberto Alam, and Engr. Dan Gervacio, and the former OIC GM Felix Hibionada.

In that order, NEA only suspended former OIC GM Nelson Balangan for 30 days after he was found guilty of simple neglect of duty. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)

NEWSFEATURE: “DANECO-CDA” vs “DANECO-NEA”: The tug-of-war between 2 electric coops in 1

(1^st in two parts)

By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

 The latest in the divisive conflict raging inside the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) is that a group is now waving a white flag with a big “if” emblazoned on it.

The group of officials of Daneco who have taken control of the Daneco’s Tagum office have promised to resign come the Oct. 21 special general they had earlier called for.

In a press conference last Tuesday held at Daneco Tagum office at Tipaz, Barangay East, Tagum City, board director Engr. Abiner Labja and “Daneco-CDA” OIC general manager Reynaldo Bandala both echoed their group’s position of resigning but on the condition that the Daneco member-consumers would accede to it.

The group controlling what they called as “Daneco-CDA” in their aggressive bid to put Daneco under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and bolt from the control and supervision of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has recently faced a problem that might empty them of legality to further hold on when the CDA itself suspended Daneco’s CDA registration pending resolution of a case filed before the Court of Appeals (CA).

Since July the “Daneco-CDA” group has been holding on Daneco Tagum office and its entire management over Tagum office’s area of jurisdiction in Davao del Norte including the collection of power bill payments, leaving the Compostela Valley area under the management of “Daneco-NEA” based at the main office in Montevista, Compostela Valley. NEA designated an employee Benedicto Ongking as the OIC GM to work side by side with the NEA Project Supervisor Evangelito Estaca.

But later most of Daneco Tagum office’s regular employees deserted their pro-CDA management, went to “Daneco-NEA” side and started collecting payments for power bills using the hot open areas of power substations in the city as their temporary offices.

Before they left they downed the server of computers in the office and carted away the computer program containing the vast records of member-consumers.

Since then Tagum City has become an arena in the tug-of-war of collection activities of two contesting “Daneco-CDA” and “Daneco-NEA” groups or managements, creating confusions to among member-consumers in the Tagum and Davao del Norte areas as two different electric bills come arriving in energized households.

CDA REGISTRATION

In an order dated September 28, CDA chairman Emmanuel Santiaguel ordered for the suspension of Daneco’s CDA Certification of Registration No. 9520-11021778, issued on May 21, 2012.

The CDA also directed “all persons” acting by virtue of the certificate of registration to “cease and desist from further performing and exercising their powers and functions.”

But in last Tuesday’s press conference, the group called on Santiaguel to recall his suspension order and stand for the conversion of Daneco into stock cooperative, which they claimed to have already been realized when member-consumers voted an “overwhelming” 49,056 yes votes in favor to CDA as against the 1,773 votes for NEA in a series of referendum held last May.

A large majority of Daneco’s employees however, went against the CDA, as they preferred NEA to continue supervising the 41-year old electric cooperative. They claimed that the referenda were sham and were rushed to save the board and management officials who were subject of dismissal by NEA due to an administrative case they were facing.

Daneco has over 125,000 member-consumers and is considered to be the biggest business in the provinces of Davao del Norte and Compostela Valley, its franchise area, less the towns of Carmen, Sto. Tomas and BE Dujali and Panabo City in Davao del Norte, which are catered by the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Corporation. In 2011 Daneco generated a total revenue of P1.8 billion.

Also, Atty. Glenn Blair Carnicer, legal counsel of the “Daneco-CDA” group, assailed Santiaguel’s action as violative to Section 67 of Republic Act No. 9520, otherwise known as Cooperative Code of the Philippines, saying that the order was bereft of CDA board resolution.

DEFIANT

But the “Daneco-CDA” group for all their aggressive legal recourses, legal-procedural filibustering to court orders and open defiance to be booted from their posts since April had managed to foil last Oct. 3 the attempt of a sheriff backed up by a group of provincial policemen in full battle gear to implement a WPI (writ of preliminary injunction) from the Court of Appeals for the group to give way and turnover the management of Daneco Tagum City office.

On that day, sheriff Renato Suarez of the Regional Trial Court Branch 3 in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley arrived at the vicinity of Daneco Tagum office and served the order to Bandala.

Reports said that prior the serving, the sheriff, accompanied by policemen led by Davao del Norte provincial police director PSSupt. Edgardo Wycoco and armed security guards from the Security Agency and Guard Supervision Section, disarmed the security guards from Christian Investigative and Security Agency (CISA) manning the office and drove out customers.

A group of Daneco employees were also reportedly lurking around to support the supposed takeover via a sheriff’s order.

But the “Daneco-CDA” group resisted, stood their ground and particularly Atty. Carnicer, fuming mad, ordered office employees to physically bar the sheriff and his group, reports added.

They insisted the sheriff carried no order for takeover but only the ouster of Bandala.

After that, the group cried harassment and vowed to file a case against the sheriff and his company. Suarez group reportedly backed out to avoid violence from breaking out due to heated atmosphere.

Bandala insisted however that the sheriff carried an order that had no signatures of associate justices.

Bandala said Tuesday that while the WPI is not yet around he would continue serving as the OIC GM.

THE COMPLAINT

In October 2011, a group of seven member-consumers lodged an administrative complaint to NEA containing some 11 allegations involving anomalous biddings and disbursements, overpricing in the purchase of substation, unauthorized claims, questionable policy decisions, defiance to NEA’s regulatory powers, among others.

The complainant-member consumers who lodged the case docketed as NEA ADM Case No. 01-10-11 were Gregorio Ybanez, Khernie Bahan, Epifanio Alfeche, Paulito Villaceran, Jr., George Monares, Juan Esperanza and Arnold Dinopol.

Respondents were board president Dean Briz, board treasurer Ananias Darjan Jr, and director-members Brendo Ceniza, Miguel Fermil, Roberto Binasbas, Eugenio Ramonida, Roman Calicdan, Roberto Alam, and Engr. Dan Gervacio, and the two former OIC GMs Nelson Balangan and Felix Hibionada.

Directors Alam and Gervacio later swore as pro-NEA and dissociated from the group although both had to be dismissed the same.

On April 30, 2012 the NEA’s five -man Board of Administrators chaired by Dept. of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras dismissed all the 9 respondent directors and former OIC GM Hibionada after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty.

The dismissal carries the other penalties such as cancellation of eligibility to run for the position of electric cooperative director, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for re-employment in any rural EC.

NEA only suspended Balangan for 30 days after he was found guilty of simple neglect of duty.

The termination came a few days before the scheduled referendum on May 5 and 6, May 12 and 13 and May 19 and 20, which the group pursued contrary to NEA’s order to hold the referendum in abeyance.

The referendum would ask member-consumers whether they would go for the conversion of Daneco as stock cooperative under CDA, for status quo under NEA or as stock corporation under the Securities and Exchange Commission. (TO BE CONTINUED) (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte with various news reports)

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NEWSFEATURE

“DANECO-CDA” vs “DANECO-NEA”: The tug-of-war between 2 electric coops in 1

(Last in two parts)

By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

Despite the dismissal order of NEA, the terminated officials belonging to “Daneco-CDA” group refused to vacate from their posts. They banked on the assertion that they were still on motion for the reconsideration even as they demanded for a formal hearing on their case in a court.

They cried injustice claiming that under their watch Daneco has become financially and operationally stable compared to the previous two managements.

The Daneco Board submitted a motion to conduct a formal hearing on the case against them since there only two hearings held- a mandatory hearing which was held on January 26, 2012 and a Clarificatory Hearing held on March 12, 2012.

However, even before a resolution was reached, the NEA Board of Administrators issued a memorandum on March 20, 2012 stating that the case is deemed submitted for resolution. Despite appeals from Daneco Board, they were terminated on May 2, 2012, three days prior to the scheduled referendum.

The holding-out group is not without political backing. Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy and Tagum City Mayor Rey Uy did not hide their support for the conversion of Daneco into stock cooperative and to the pro-CDA group.

Besides, the “Daneco-CDA” management found support from some partylist representatives such as Rep. Cresente C. Paez of COOP-NATCCO and Rep. Nicanor M. Briones of the AGAP Partylist, who made privilege speech regarding Daneco’s situation in Congress. Both assailed the interference, bias, partiality, and manipulation of NEA to Daneco.

Supporting partylist representatives talked about how NEA moves in not giving up electric cooperatives so easily to become real cooperatives like eating peanuts as against the EPIRA law, and on how NEA has been making ECs in the country as their milking cows.

Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, on the other hand, seems to be ambivalent and neutral to the Daneco issue until at press time.

TROs

The dismissed officials then applied for a 72-hour temporary restraining order before RTC Branch 3 in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley. On May 3, the court granted the TRO on the NEA decision.

Because of the supposed termination of the members of the board, NEA Administrator Editha Bueno issued a memorandum to Daneco on May 4, 2012, in the afternoon instructing the deferment of the scheduled referendum. It was defied by the group.

The first round of referendum on May 5 for the towns of Maco, Mabini, Pantukan, Maragusan and Mawab in Compostela Valley did not materialize as Daneco employees tasked to supervise the referendum did not show up. The “Daneco-CDA” group cried sabotage.

However, other referendum proceeded as scheduled as the group excluded the opposing employees from the tasks. Towards midway there was a TRO from an RTC in Tagum City issued to stop the referendum but just the same it was defied by the “Daneco-CDA” group.

In late July RTC Branch 3 Executive Judge Hilaron Clapis Jr after extending twice the original 72-hour TRO to 30 days then 20 days, further issued an injunction against the NEA for its order of termination rendered against the members of the board.

This prompted a complainant group to file a motion requesting the CA to issue a TRO against the order of the RTC Branch 3 and later applied for an issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction.

1^st TAKEOVER ATTEMPT

On June 30, Saturday, armed with TRO from CA, the “Daneco-NEA” group led by NEA Deputy Administrator Ed Piamonte, Estaca and pro-NEA Daneco directors Rodolfo Ang, Gervacio and Rolando Bugas, former Daneco OIC GM Allan Laniba and complainant Gregorio Ybañez, their legal counsels and opposing Daneco employees tried but failed to make a takeover of Daneco Tagum office. It was the eve of the special general assembly called by the “Daneco-CDA” group on Sunday at Maco gym.

Leaders of “Daneco-CDA” group led by their spokesman ex-Congressman Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora hotly contested the TRO in five-hour intense negotiations.

The group reportedly forced their way to enter the office premises, breaking up the steel chains that tied the closed gates. Presence of police and military on guard outside the office compound was noted.

Zamora and his counsel argued that the 60-day TRO could not be served by the lawyers but by the court sheriff. They also said that the TRO only prohibited the 9 directors from performing and it did not specifically state they had to make a takeover. Gov. Uy and Mayor Uy later arrived in the scene.

The July 1 special general assembly was hailed by the “Daneco-CDA” group as the first of Daneco under a CDA regime when set of officers were swore in, and requirements for CDA registration were confirmed. There are least 8,000 member-consumers attending it, though opposing Daneco employees alleged that most of whom were barrio folks ferried thru hakot system. 

In evident reprisal, on July 4, the “Daneco-CDA” management put 57 employees under preventive suspension without pay for 30 days. On the next days, the suspended employees started encamping for a picket infront the Daneco office at Tipaz.

GOV-SEC AGREMENT

On June 6, Gov. Uy, Energy Secretary Almendras and the late DILG Secretary Jessie Robredo reportedly met in Manila to try solving Daneco’s worsening conflict.

On July 9 upon his return to his province Gov. Uy bared to the public that he and the secretaries agreed for the meantime that while there was a TRO the 9 dismissed directors and Hibionada would not hold office, and at the latter’s stead employee Reynaldo Bandala would have to be the OIC GM. He would work jointly with NEA Project Supervisor Estaca. Bandala is a protégé of Hibionada.

On the same day, Uy then instructed Bandala to order for a return to work of the 57 employees whom Hibionada and company suspended without pay for thirty days.

It was said that this interregnum had freed the P80 million on joint account with Estaca as co-signatory to pay for the power bill obligations to PSALM.  NATCCO Partylist Rep. Paez  in his privilege speech last September 3 bared that Daneco  had pending P106-million obligations to PSALM and P34 million to the National Grid Corporation.

“While the cooperative holds P160 million from its collections in May and in June, which is now in its new depository bank, EastWest Bank, it cannot dispense the fund properly as there is an interpleading case on who should be the signatory for bank transactions of the cooperative,” Paez said.

Earlier, NEA Administrator Bueno specifically wrote the managers of the United Coconut Planters Bank and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Daneco’s depository banks, authorizing Estaca to sign and countersign all checks and other banking transactions of Daneco.

But just a few days when Bandala and Estaca were assumed to work jointly, on July 10 NEA administrator Bueno, who was visiting Daneco with DOE Undersecretary Ina Magpale Asirit, appointed Ongking as Daneco OIC GM, violating the reported agreement between Sec. Almendras and Gov. Uy. She also issued a memo terminating newly-hired job-order employees.

But before Ongking could warm his seat at Daneco Tagum office, the “Daneco-CDA” group moved in and seized the control and management of the Daneco Tagum office with Bandala as its OIC GM. They vowed to bar Estaca and his agents from entering Daneco Tagum premises.

On July 15 at the prodding of “Daneco-CDA” group some 300 people claiming to be member-consumers held a rally infront the tightly-guarded Daneco main office at Montevista. They wanted NEA to leave Daneco, declaring that Daneco is already under CDA. The protesters were however countered by Daneco employees praying rosary.

Sketchy reports swirled that the “Daneco-CDA” group with their CISA guards was out to forcibly barge in the Montevista office but was held at bay by the “Daneco-NEA” group’s own guards and rosary-praying employees.

Meantime, it was then when the Tagum employees returned to work that they shortly deserted to go to the “Daneco-NEA” management and worked for the separate collection of power bill payments from member-consumers. They made a good break as earlier they had been posing overt and covert internal resistance to their pro-CDA management in the areas of cash deposits, withdrawals, vaults and account signatories.

As most regular employees of Daneco Tagum office left the pro-CDA management, the “Daneco-CDA” group was accused to have employed new job-order employees in what appeared as scabs-like employment.

CA’s INJUNCTION

Later, the “Daneco-NEA” group secured a new legal victory at the CA when in a 15-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marilyn Lagura-Yap and issued last August 29, the CA granted the application for a writ of preliminary injunction.

In her ruling, Yap said the member-consumers gave “more persuasive reasons” to grant the injunction “because the respondents, particularly Hibionada, occupied and took over the Daneco despite the issuance of TRO.”

It added that the respondents also appointed Rey Bandala as Daneco’s OIC general manager, who collects payments from the member-consumers.

“Whether true or not, this enforces the necessity for issuance of a WPI (writ of preliminary injunction). We cannot afford a scenario, that while the main case is pending, two contending factions will control Daneco,” the order read.

“This will obviously be detrimental to Daneco as an institution and to its member-consumers,” Yap said in her ruling.

However, the petitioners and the sheriff of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 3 in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley alleged that the injunction was not enforced since Bandala refused to heed the resolution as it did not specifically prohibit those acting for in behalf of the dismissed employees.

Thus, the “Daneco-NEA” group asked the CA for a revised injunction. In a nine-page resolution promulgated on September 26 and signed by Associate Justices Marilyn B. Lagura-Yap, Edgardo A. Camello and Renato C. Francisco, the appellate court amended its previous resolution, which prohibited some members of the board of directors of the cooperative from performing their tasks, by including a certain Rey Bandala.

In the previous resolution, it only stated that Bandala was appointed by the respondents as Daneco’s OIC general manager, who collects payments from the members-consumers.

The CA ruled that the sheriff shall continue its authority to serve the second resolution issued by the CA that includes Bandala in the injunction.

STRANGE EVENTS

Meanwhile, in strange and separate turn of events, the NEA-designated OIC GM Ongking was shot but was unharmed last August 15 by still unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants in tandem while he was delivering his child to school in Tagum City. His driver sustained gunshot wound in his hand. The Tagum police is still clueless on the motive of Ongking’s shooting at press time.

Earlier, Judge Clapis was dismissed from service for conducting bail hearings without petition for bail filed by an accused in a criminal case.

In a 16-page decision promulgated on July 17, Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and other 13 associate justices dismissed Judge Hilarion P. Clapis Jr. of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 3 in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley for gross misconduct and gross ignorance of the law.

WORRIES

As the two groups continue in their legal, management and collection tug-of-war, not a few member-consumers are asking which group will pay for the millions-worth power bill obligations of Daneco to PSALM and the National Grid Corporation due for the Tagum and Davao del Norte areas.

And despite intense pressures from the Palace-connected “Daneco-NEA” management and the visibly tightening legal noose to “Daneco-CDA” management, there is a question on whether the latter can still stretch time and the limits of defying court orders to continue clinging to guarded posts when the sheriff would return to them one of these days. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte with various news reports)

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Rural Urban News (RUN) is a blog-based community news and narrative reportage advocacy group promoting web-based citizen journalism. https://cha4t.wordpress.com. contact cp no. 09392218348.