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The NEA cites that in the context of state regulation, the “Interference” in ECs’ affairs comes as a matter of course in the exercise of NEA’s mandate of supervision over their operations and management under the provisions of Presidential Decree (PD) 269 as amended by Republic Act (RA) No. 10531. Supervisory actions such as the selection and hiring of EC general managers (GM) as in the case of the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) GM are therefore lawful and were executed with due diligence. The procedure adheres to NEA Memorandum No. 2017-035 issued on 24 October 2017.

Such policy guidelines were judiciously crafted, reviewed and approved by the NEA Board of Administrators. Furthermore, NEA is mandated to continuously and efficiently implement all approved policies including the said Memorandum.###

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) is saddened by the statement of Mr. Bongbong Marcos on his concept of Electric Cooperatives (ECs) as inefficient parts in the chain of progress during his interview with DZRH on 25 January 2022.

For more than five decades, the ECs play an important role in ushering economic activities particularly in the rural areas through the implementation of the Rural Electrification Program (REP) which his father, the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos has started and signed into law on 4 August 1969, the Republic Act No. 6038 or “An Act Declaring a National Policy Objective for the Total Electrification of the Philippines on an Area Coverage Basis, Providing for the organization of the National Electrification Administration, the Organization, Promotion and Development of Electric Cooperatives to Attain the Objective, Prescribing Terms and Conditions for their Operation, the Repeal of R.A. NO. 2717, and For Other Purposes”, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 269 enacted on 6 August 1973.

Tropical Cyclone (TC) “Odette” has affected a total of 74 Electric Cooperatives (ECs) across the country. As of 26 January 2022, 782 municipalities have been fully restored while 128 are partially restored, and 28 municipalities has just commenced restoration work.

This crucial task would not have rolled out without the initiatives and support of ECs, government agencies, and energy stakeholder organizations. In implementing the Task Force Kapatid (TFK), ECs extended resources to other ECs that need restoration aid. This time-tested cooperation initiative was launched by the late former NEA Administrator Fr. Francisco Silva. It positions the default protocol of ECs to assist each other during and after natural and man-made calamities.