4 ERC officials back to work after CA’s TRO vs. their suspension

Four Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) commissioners on Monday returned to their jobs after the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against their one-year suspension.

In a resolution penned by Associate Justice Mariflor Punzalan Castillo, the appellate court's ninth division issued the 60-day TRO against the suspension of ERC Commissioners Alfredo Non, Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Josefina Patricia Asirit, at Geronimo Sta. Ana to avoid the disruption of service at the agency.

"ERC can only act as a collegial body and we need at least two commissioners to form a quorum. The Court of Appeals found that there is no basis for the Ombudsman to issue such penalty of suspension," ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said in a 24 Oras report.

Last December, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of the four ERC officials over transactions involving power generation companies affiliated with Meralco.

The Ombudsman acted on a complaint filed by Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas Inc. accusing the ERC officials of favoring Meralco after they extended the deadline for distribution companies to conduct a competitive selection process for procuring power supply to April 30, 2016.

The Ombudsman said it found all the elements of graft against the respondents when they suspended the competitive selection process to accommodate Meralco's power supply agreements. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News