Fiscal to review Veco case against Waterfront hotel

The criminal complaint filed by the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) against a five-star hotel in Cebu City accused of tampering its electrical connection was raffled off yesterday.

Assistant City Prosecutor Rogelio del Prado will conduct the preliminary investigation on the complaint.

The respondents will be given a chance to submit their counter-affidavits to refute the allegations.

If Del Prado finds probable cause against the respondents, charges will be elevated to the court.

Otherwise, the complaint will be dismissed.

Cebu City Prosecutor Nicolas Sellon, being the head of office, will have the final say whether or not to approve Del Prado’s recommendations.

But the two parties are set to meet on Friday to settle their dispute according to Energy Regulatory Commission in Central Visayas Director Joel Bontuyan during the 888 News Forum in Marco Polo Hotel.

Bontuyan also revealed that the hotel management filed a consumer complaint against Veco although he refused to give more details as it might affect the pending criminal complaint that Veco filed against the hotel.

Last Monday, Veco filed a complaint against Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino Inc., which was blamed for causing damages to Veco in the amount of P168,699,560.86.

The hotel allegedly cut off two wires leading to the electric billing meter so that Veco will record an inaccurate measurement of the hotel’s electric consumption from August 2007 to February 2011.

A complaint for violating Republic Act 7832 or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994 was filed against the respondents before the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.

Named respondents were Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, its president Kenneth Gatchalian, area general management for Visayas and Mindanao Marco Protacio, resident manager Carlo Marcelo Sainz, group chief engineer Ferdinand Vincent Lazaro, chief engineer Loulainetto Lauron and assistant engineer Jose Francis Canizares.

Ricardo Lacson, vice president for administration and customer service group of Veco, filed the complaint on behalf of the company.

R.A. 7832 mandates anyone not “to damage or destroy an electric meter, equipment, wire or conduit or allow any of them to be so damaged or destroyed as to interfere with the proper or accurate metering of electric current.”

Violation of this provision is punishable by 12 years of imprisonment or a fine ranging from P10,000 to P20,000.  Violators, however may face both imprisonment, and fine at the court’s discretion. With Candeze R. Mongaya