Lanao del Sur mayors to ask court to cite power coop head in contempt
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Eighteen of the 27 Lanao del Sur town mayors, who had sued Lanao del Sur Electric Coop. (Lasureco) chief Ashary Maongco for alleged financial irregularities, will ask the court to cite him in contempt, according to the mayors’ counsel.
Lawyer Bayan Balt, the legal counsel of the 27 mayors, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone on Sunday that he met with the 18 local chief executives at the Lanao del Sur provincial capitol on Friday afternoon.
He said the mayors wanted Maongco to explain to the court his continued refusal to restore power to their towns even if they had already put up the cash bond required of them.
“Contempt of court is a criminal offense and if he continues to disobey, I will ask the court to have him arrested,” Balt said.
In her June 16 decision, Judge Wenida Papandayan of the Marawi City Regional Trial Court ordered Lasureco to restore power to all Lanao del Sur towns, which had been without electricity since May 2013.
Lasureco explained that the towns were remiss in their payment of their electricity bill, which resulted in the cooperative’s debt of P3.2 billion with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm).
Article continues after this advertisementLasureco’s accounts payable to Psalm has since ballooned to P8.3 billion, according to Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong.
Article continues after this advertisementIn Papandayan’s order, the town mayors of the province were also directed to put up cash bonds – which was later agreed at P50,000.
But Balt said as of Sunday, Lasureco has only restored power to nine towns, all belonging to the provinces’ first congressional district.
“Today is the sixth day of Ramadan and you can imagine how hard it is for the people to cope with the fact that they continue to be without electricity,” he said.
Still without electricity, he said, were the towns of Butig, Lumbatan, Lumbayanague, Lumbaca-Unayan, Sultan Dumalundong, Bayang, Binidayan, Tubaran, Pagayawan, Ganassi, Madamba, Madalum, Bacolod-Kalawi, Calanugas, Malabang, Balabagan, Picong and Kapatagan.
“The 18 towns had posted similar cash bonds required by RTC-Branch 10 Executive Judge Wenida Papandayan for all 27 towns in her June 16 decision for Lasureco to restore electricity therein,” he said.
Balt said he was preparing the motion asking Papandayan to cite Maongco in contempt of the court order and for “acting above the law.”
“I might be able to file it Monday at the earliest,” he said.
Maongco could still not be reached for comment despite the Inquirer’ repeated efforts. The mobile numbers associated with him had either been terminated or re-issued to other subscribers.
Even staff members of the National Power Corp. in Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City said they did not know how to contact him.
Maongco, who had assumed as Lasureco head in 2007, was also being accused before the Ombudsman of plunder in the “questionable disbursements” of P190 million in barangay (village) electrification funds, P25-million pantawid kuryente and P603-million power bills collected from consumers in 2007-2012 but were allegedly not remitted to power suppliers.
The 27 Lanao del Sur mayors, who accused him of such, also alleged that he had violated Lasureco’s rules by “appointing” members of the cooperative’s board and imposing “pakyaw system” characterized by the installation of one billing meter in each town.
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