Senate told to look into ERC role, powers following exec’s death

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian —INQUIRER.net PHOTO

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has asked the Senate to look into the “mandate, powers, and functions” of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) following the suicide of director Francisco “Jun” Villa allegedly because of corruption within the agency.

Villa, who was chair of the ERC’s bids and awards committee, reportedly shot and killed himself on Nov. 9 because of alleged pressure to approve contracts for procurements and hiring consultants without proper bidding and procedure.

READ: ERC official killed self over rampant office corruption–sister

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on energy, filed Senate Resolution No. 240 on Tuesday, directing the appropriate committee to conduct an inquiry on the ERC’s mandate and powers.

The inquiry, he said, was aimed at “protecting the Filipino consumers by insulating the power industry from vested interests.”

The senator noted that the ERC’s role was imbued with public interest “as it is responsible for granting several types of permits necessary for industry players to operate, and approving power contracts amounting to millions, even billions of pesos.”

“Due to its broad decision-making powers within the energy sector, the ERC is the ‘Supreme Court’ of the power industry and should serve as the protector and guardian of the consumers against monopolization and cartelization,” he said in the resolution.

“Corruption within the commission itself could result in the proliferation of anticompetitive behavior, which would be disastrous to the stability of our electricity supply,” said Gatchalian.

RELATED VIDEO