Power co-op execs linked to scams try out-of-court deals
By Marlon Alexander Luistro
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:11:00 01/05/2008
LIPA CITY—Some of the former officials of the Batangas II Electric Cooperative (Batelec II) linked to a questionable computerization project they entered into with a private firm and the alleged overprice of boom trucks that the cooperative purchased are exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement.
Batelec II board secretary Dakila Atienza said in an interview on Friday that one of the eight former officials, who were charged with estafa, had asked him if the cooperative could drop the cases and settle these out of court.
Atienza declined to identify the former official because their talks were confidential.
The ex-official also demanded that the cooperative shoulder the legal fees of both parties and award the benefits removed from them as Batelec directors, added Atienza.
Atienza said he refused to accede to the demand. “We are always liable to our member consumers especially if we would settle this case amicably. We should just let the courts decide.”
Atienza said he had been approached by the former official twice in November last year.
In an e-mailed statement earlier sent to the Inquirer, Atienza said the case was non-negotiable since Batelec II still had to recover losses from the questionable contract and purchase.
“The bottom line is that Batelec II has to recoup the losses it incurred from the two deals,” he said.
On Nov. 20 last year, the designated Department of Justice prosecutors in Lipa City filed estafa charges against Reynaldo Panaligan, former president of the Batelec II board of directors and Manila Bulletin reporter; and former directors Tita Matulin, Jose Rizal Remo, Isagani Casalme, Cipriano Roxas, Cesario Gutierrez, Celso Landicho and Eduardo Tagle.
State prosecutors Florencio dela Cruz and Nolibien Quiambao filed the case at Lipa’s Regional Trial Court after finding sufficient evidence.
Based on results of a preliminary investigation by the DOJ, the eight “conspired willfully, unlawfully and feloniously to defraud the cooperative by entering into a contract with I-Solv Technologies Inc. for an enterprise-wide customization-integration-computerization contract without prior bidding.”
The contract was awarded to I-Solv without the approval of the National Electrification Administration, in violation of Presidential Decree No. 269.
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