Ducut: ‘I won’t abandon my people’

Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson Zenaida Cruz-Ducut. PHOTO BY RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairman Zenaida Ducut will not resign from her post amid calls for her to step down for failing to stop the unprecedented power rate increases.

“The reputation and the professionalism of the entire ERC organization is at stake here and I will not abandon my people but will lead them to what is proper and appropriate,” Ducut said in a statement in Filipino.

In her more than five years as ERC head, Ducut said she had faced every challenge in the transition to an open and competitive electricity sector.

On Thursday Jan. 23, Akbayan Representatives Walden Bello and Barry Gutierrez, filed a complaint before the Office of the President to remove her from office for “gross neglect of duty and incompetence in protecting the interest of the power consumers.

Ducut thanked Malacañang for its “fair treatment” on the complaint filed against her.

“I thank the President and Secretary Coloma for not quickly judging me based only on the complaints they filed and but respected my right to due process. I will answer the complaint filed against me as soon as I receive a copy from Malacañang,” she said.

She said the widening demand for her removal was the plan of sectors using dirty tactics to fuel public sentiment to remove her from office.

“The ERC will not be swayed by emotional statements because we do not seek publicity or self-serving positions unlike some critics who use the issue for their self-interest,” she said.

Malacanang last Friday said they President Benigno Aquino III has received the complaint and said that since an administrative proceeding takes time, “voluntary resignation is an option,” for Ducut, hinting that the Aquino administration would not stop her from quitting.

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