Solon wants ERC execs suspended pending probe into Villa suicide

A congresswoman on Monday pushed for the suspension of Energy Regulatory Commission officials supposedly involved in alleged corruption that could have led to the suicide of ERC Director Francisco Jose Villa Jr.

In her House resolution, Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy urged the House of Representatives to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the circumstances that compelled Villa to commit suicide.

"Villa's suicide has brought about greater scrutiny over the severity and far reaching implications of ERC activities which he wrote about and which may have led to his demise – the alleged shady deals and preferential distribution of utilities, including power supply negotiations, which implicate key ERC officials," the resolution read.

The House probe should be conducted "to exact accountability and formulate remedial legislation in the name of transparency and integrity," the lawmaker noted.

She said the incident gave rise to the need to promote the transparency and integrity of all bidding and procurement processes at the ERC, "including the suspension of key ERC officials implicated in Villa's suicide notes, pending the results of any criminal investigation."

Also on Monday, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate filed a similar resolution calling for an investigation into the matter, and claimed that Villa's suicide could have been the result of alleged "midnight deals" between the ERC and power generation firms affiliated with the Manila Electric Co.

Villa, the brother of journalist Rosario Sofia "Chari" Villa, committed suicide inside his house in Parañaque on November 9 due to alleged corruption at the ERC.

The ERC director supposedly revealed having been pressured to approve ERC procurement contracts and hiring consultants without proper bidding and procedure.

He reportedly claimed, in a series of notes written three months before his suicide, that ERC chair and CEO Jose Vicente Salazar was involved in a "rigged selection system." — VDS, GMA News