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ILOILO CITY — A fact-finding team of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has recommended the cancellation of a 25-year power supply agreement between an independent power producer (IPP) and an electric cooperative in Iloilo for allegedly being tainted with bribery and for being disadvantageous to consumers.
In a 13-page report, a copy of which was obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer over the weekend, the three-member team said there was sufficient proof that bribery was involved in the signing of a power supply agreement (PSA) between the Iloilo Electric Cooperative 3 and the Applied Research Technologies Philippines (Artech) last April 21.
Ileco 3 is the sole electric distributor for 13 towns in northern Iloilo with around 40,000 consumers.
“There is enough evidence pointing to show that there was (bribery) and the cooperative and its consumers stand to lose because of this,” confirmed Lawyer Omar Mayo, head of the fact-finding team, in a telephone interview on Sunday.
The investigating team also said in its report dated June 5, 2009 that there was “undue haste in entering into (the) contract.”
It pointed out that it took only 16 days for the cooperative's board of directors to decide to accept the PSA while a consortium of electric cooperatives in Panay and Guimaras took around four months to study and evaluate offers of different IPPs.
The 25-year duration of the PSA “all the more necessitate the exercise of prudence to afford members-consumers the best possible deal on the matter of electricity rates,” it said in its report.
A copy of the report has also been sent to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The anti-graft body and the National Bureau of Investigation are conducting separate investigations on the controversy. /Inquirer
