Ducut to attend Senate hearing on huge power rate hike Wednesday

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chair Zenaida Cruz-Ducut said she would attend the Senate hearing on the huge increase in power rates scheduled for Wednesday.

Ducut said she was unable to attend the House energy committee hearing on the rate increase of P4.15/kilowatt-hour on Monday because she had to preside over a committee meeting.

She also said she would address the allegations linking her to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and the pork barrel controversy.

“I have yet to receive a copy of the complaint, so I really can’t discuss the details at this point. I am ready to face an investigation and my accusers, and I am hoping that I will be accorded due process. Rest assured that once I see the complaint and have studied it, I will make my stand within what the legal process allows,” Ducut said in a statement.

The ERC chair has been charged with malversation in the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly acting as an agent of lawmakers in pocketing kickbacks from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Whistle-blower Benhur Luy said in a sworn affidavit that Ducut had demanded a 5-percent commission for every pork barrel project she delivered to Napoles, the alleged brains of the P10-billion PDAF scam.

Ducut, a former Pampanga representative, said she would remain in her post amid the controversy. “In the meantime, I shall continue to perform my duties according to my mandate,” Ducut said.

A number of lawmakers have called for Ducut to step down from the ERC for her alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam and for approving the huge increase in power rates.—Riza T. Olchondra