ERC chair willing to quit post if House finds he is corrupt

In light of the House of Representatives’ probe into allegations of corruption at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) surrounding the suicide of Director Francisco Jose Villa Jr., ERC Chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said on Tuesday he is willing to step down from his position if found he has committed any act of corruption.

During the joint hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and Committee on Energy, Negros Oriental Rep. Arnulfo Teves Jr. asked Salazar if was willing to resign if lawmakers found he committed graft or have taken any bribe.

The ERC chair responded, “Yes your honor, and I believe na wala tayong makikita, po.”

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered all ERC commissioners to resign after Villa took his own life on November 9, 2016.

In one of his suicide notes, the late ERC executive revealed corruption in the agency particularly in a supposed audio visual presentation project. Villa alleged that Salazar procured the through a “rigged selection system.”

The ERC chair, however, claimed a certain consultant – Luis Morelos – has been providing the commission with concepts for the AVP project for free after the bidding processes failed as Morelos wasn't able to commit to work at the ERC as a contractual employee in view of the need to attend to his own business.

During the hearing, Teves pressed Salazar to provide more information on how much the power producers earn out of every kilowatt of electricity.

The ERC chair, however, wasn't able to provide the information but noted the return on investments of power producers has been declining since 2013.

Teves the berated Salazar. The lawmaker emphasized that the information he has been asking has been raised several months ago when the issue of corruption at the ERC came about after Villa died. — VS, GMA News