The National Electrification Administration (NEA) welcomed the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) of the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Finance (DOF) providing the guidelines for the availment of certain local tax exemptions by Electric Cooperatives (ECs).
“The availment of these preferential rights will help the ECs allocate monetary resources to better pursue our common purpose of nation-building,” NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda said at the signing ceremony held on Wednesday at the Minority Conference Office in Batasan Pambansa.
“We, at the NEA, are optimistic about the outcome of the JMC, as well as its positive impact on our ECs and, ultimately, their member-consumer-owners,” he added, assuring all concerned parties and stakeholders of the agency’s full support regarding its effective implementation.
The JMC will pave the way for all ECs registered with both the NEA and the Cooperative Development Authority to avail of the preferential rights under the law, subject to their compliance with prescribed financial and operational standards set by the NEA.
Administrator Almeda said the NEA will release the guidelines, within 15 days of the effectivity of the JMC, outlining the parameters which the ECs must meet so they can be issued the necessary ‘Certificate of Compliance’ for the availment of preferential rights.
He thanked Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and Finance Secretary Ralph Recto for signing the JMC, which gives all ECs operating nationwide “the opportunity to better balance their mandatory contributions to local government with their duty to deliver effective services.”
The NEA chief likewise acknowledged the contributions of party-list representatives Presley de Jesus of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (PHILRECA) and Sergio Dagooc of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC), who helped the agency push for the JMC.
The JMC is guided by the provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160 or the Local Government Code in accordance with state policies defined under RA 10531 or the National Electrification Reform Act of 2013.###
