Electricity cooperative welcomes new 30-day suspension by Davao Norte governor

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / June 11) – The Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (NORDECO) in Tagum City supported the complaint filed by its allies with the Office of the President against Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib, saying it was “independent and based on legitimate reasons.”

Jubahib was scheduled to return to duty on Monday, June 10, after serving his 60-day preventive suspension imposed by the President’s Office.

This time, the OP suspended Jubahib for another 30 days, allegedly for participating in a rally against NORDECO and supporting the entry of Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) into the market.

In an official statement sent to this reporter, NORDECO said the lawsuits filed against Jubahib by electricity cooperative interest groups and a NORDECO board member “are based on facts that amount to a serious abuse of power and misuse of state positions and resources, favoring a purely private company, thereby violating the constitutional prohibition on the use of state resources for private purposes.”

The statement said: “NORDECO strongly supports the Coalition Against Privatization of Electric Cooperatives (CAPECs) and the National Center of Concerned Electric Consumers, Inc. (NCCECO) Davao del Norte/Davao de Oro Chapter in exercising their rights as independent and legitimate electricity consumer organizations.”

CAPECs and NCCECO were at the forefront of protests against the privatization of NORDECO.

“NORDECO’s stance against privatization is in line with the efforts of the CAPECs. Beyond personal interests, NORDECO agrees with the CAPECs’ principles of justice as opposed to corporate greed,” the statement said.

Jubahib’s recent suspension is due to his active participation in a motorcade supporting the House of Representatives’ bills to extend the DLPC’s concession, aimed at breaking up NORDECO.

Three complainants filed a complaint against the governor in Malacañang, namely, Diahne Czarl L. Semic, CAPECS vice president under OP-IAD-23-E-004; Roy C. Baco, NCCECO official in Montevista town, Davao de Oro province under OP-IAD-23-F-002; and NORDECO board member Ernido Malone under OP-IAD-23-G-009.

The suspension order was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on June 4, 2024.

Reacting to the suspension order, Jubahib, in a post on his Facebook page “Kuya Edwin Jubahib,” said that the order to suspend him again for 30 days was unfair despite his good intentions to replace NORDECO. He accused the company of inefficient services to consumers and frequent power outages to the detriment of business opportunities in Davao del Norte.

Jubahib said the provincial government had negotiated with NORDECO in the past due to complaints from consumers and business owners, but the issue was not resolved, prompting the government to refer the issue to Congress in 2022 and demand legislative action for a good electricity utility.

“However, House Bill No. 10554 was vetoed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July 2022 for unknown reasons,” Jubahib said.

“And now it is your Kuya government that is being punished instead of being held accountable,” he added.

Jubahib’s first suspension resulted from an administrative complaint filed by board member Orly Amit on November 24, 2022, alleging serious abuse of power and oppression.

The governor said he ordered the recall of Amit’s official vehicle and assigned it to the provincial engineer’s office. However, he said the vehicle was returned to Amit the following month.

He said the vehicle recall was approved because the provincial technical office needed it at the time, so he believes he did nothing illegal. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)