Consumers Relieve ALECO Management Team

LEGAZPI City (Oct. 20) - More than 100 member-consumers of Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO) have unanimously voted for the relief of the power cooperative's management team in a special assembly held Oct. 16 at the Pastoral Center of St. Gregory the Great Cathedral.

By invoking their right to legislate as member-consumers under Article III Section 2 of ALECO by-laws the multi-stakeholders signed the call to relieve Engr. Alex Realoza, operation-in-charge, and his team for mismanagement of the cooperative.

The call for special assembly was submitted by the consumers last Oct. 2 to ALECO Board of Directors (B0D), with a copy furnished to National Electrification Administration (NEA). The consumers asked that effective solutions to the problem be explored. However, BOD and NEA ignored it.

During the special assembly, Noel Cantal, spokesman of ALECO employees organization, explained in detail that the electric cooperative was able to survive from its financial fix when Management Contract was handled by Engr. German P. Silva of the National Power Corp. (NPC) wherein it registered P153 million gains in one year and was able to pay its arrears of P100 million in July 2009.

"In other words, the solution to ALECO is not power rate increase but management change with credibility so that the cooperative could find power producer that will trust us," Cantal told the assembly in Bikol.

He also explained that the BOD's failure to act immediately on the request of Engr. Silva to sign bilateral agreement was the reason behind the piling up of debt payments to power producer, while the liquid cash paid by consumers were used as payments to service contracts and other payables previously signed by Realoza.

The assembly also approved that a multi-sectoral group must be formed to become part of the ALECO policy making body to maintain check and balance and transparency in the operations of the power facility.

Ahead of the special assembly call, the BOD has approved the power rate increase of P1.66 per kilowatt hour proposed by Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda to bail out ALECO from its indebtedness of P982 million to the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC). The power rate increase is to be passed on to consumers as added cost within three years beginning October 2010 billing.

Consumers however, rejected the proposal and staged noise barrage, pickets, and rallies. They suggested to call for a series of consultation to stakeholders so that effective and meaningful solutions could be achieved.

The conveners of the assembly were headed by Fr. Ramoncito Segubiense; Pastor Dan Balucio of Pastoral Center for Peoples Reform in Bicol; Integrated Bar of Philippines Albay Chapter; Christian Businessmen and Professionals; Albay Consumers Watch; Bayan Muna; Gabriela; Urban Poor and Social Action Center.