MANILA, Philippines—From an earlier expressed willingness to have its books scrutinized by the Commission on Audit (COA), the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has done a 180-degree turn, now questioning the authority of the government agency to conduct an audit on a private entity.

In a letter dated Aug. 6 to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chair Zenaida Cruz-Ducut, Meralco regulatory management office head Monico Jacob said it acknowledged the ERC as its “sole regulator, authorized by the [Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001] to act as such for purposes of rate-fixing, among other things.”

“We would like to respectfully bring to your attention that the mandate and authority of the COA is limited to the audit of books, records and accounts of all government entities. This authority does not extend to private corporations like Meralco,” he said.

He further said that Meralco could not find any legal basis for the COA to conduct on audit on Meralco upon the request of a private entity–the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms. Abigail L. Ho