THE National Association of Electricity Consumers (Nasecore) Thursday filed a P889 million large-scale estafa case before the Department of Justice against officials of the Lopez-managed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in connection with the power distributor’s move to convert as income the interest earned by the meter and bill deposits of its subscribers.

In a 13-page complaint, Nasecore, through its president Petronilo Ilagan, said the complaint is intended to correct another injustice being committed by the power company to its millions of subscribers.

The consumer group named Meralco chairman Manolo Lopez and its president Jesus Francisco as among the respondents.

“This is a dastardly act of the Lopezes again taking away our money. It ranks high among the condemnable crimes committed by this family against long-suffering Filipinos, including their unconscionable passing to us billions of pesos of their own electric consumption,” Ilagan said in a press statement.

Other respondents in Nasecore’s complaint include Arthur Defensor Jr., Gregory Domingo, Octavio Victor Espiritu, Christian Monsod, Federico Puno, Washington Sycip, Emilio Vicens, Francisco Viray and Cesar Virata, all members of the 2006 Meralco board of directors.

Also facing charges are Daniel Tagaza, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Meralco; Rafael Andrada, first vice president and treasurer; Helen de Guzman, vice president and corporate auditor and compliance officer; Antonio Valera, vice president and assistant comptroller; and Manolo Fernando, senior assistant vice president and assistant treasurer.

Nasecore pointed out that the conversion was illegal because the money was in the nature of a fund that should have been held in trust by Meralco for its consumers because it must be paid back to them.

Before 2004, Nasecore noted that Meralco required every applicant for electric-power connection to make a deposit for the meter used by Meralco in computing power consumption. Without the required meter deposit, Meralco will not sell electricity to the applicant.

The power company also requires every applicant to pay a deposit to guarantee payment of bills equivalent to their estimated monthly billing. Without it, Meralco will refuse selling electricity to the applicant.

In the event that a subscriber is no longer interested to acquire electricity from Meralco, the latter is legally obligated to return to the subscriber the amount deposited for the said meter, plus interest. It is also obliged to return the deposit, also with interest.

In February 1987, the Board of Energy set the interest rate at 6 percent per year. Since then, Meralco reflected in its books the funds corresponding to the 6-percent interest. It was classified under the customers deposits account.

On August 3, 1995, the now defunct Energy Regulatory Board increased the interest rate to 10 percent per year.

In January 2003, Meralco sought from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) a reduction of the 10-percent annual interest rate to just 6 percent, but the ERC denied its plea.

“In a nutshell, what Meralco did was to take away for its own use the P889 which should be refunded to us. That’s estafa,” Ilagan said.

“The proof of their misdeed or the smoking gun is right there in their 2006 financial statement,” he added.

The estimated amount of P21 billion corresponds to the meter deposits made by consumers which should remain in trust while the ERC is coming up with a plan to implement the return of the deposits.

However, Nasecore claimed that the power firm only allotted 6-percent payment per consumer instead of 10 percent while the remaining 4 percent has been reclassified to “interest and other incomes.”

The consumer group said this is a “clear case of misappropriation.”

Nasecore said the reclassification “has the undeniable effect of converting the money collected from said subscribers into dividends or corporate profits which, by its nomenclature and nature, become income of the shareholders of Meralco. Having been reclassified as corporate income, the same ceased to become money of the subscribers to whom they lawfully belong.”

Cabinet studies ways to cut power rates

THE Cabinet Study Group tasked to look into the issue of power rates has created a technical working group to further thresh out the recommendations made by top executives of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) during a meeting on Thursday.

THE National Association of Electricity Consumers (Nasecore) Thursday filed a P889 million large-scale estafa case before the Department of Justice against officials of the Lopez-managed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in connection with the power distributor’s move to convert as income the interest earned by the meter and bill deposits of its subscribers.

THE question of whether the proxy solicitation done by the Lopez bloc is illegal or not will be determined Friday afternoon in a hearing supervised by corporate regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A powerful bomb exploded outside the main gate of the Col. Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB) that houses the 3rd Air Division of the Air Force (PAF) in barangay Santa Maria this city, killing two people and wounding 21 others.

POLICE tracking down the assailants in the bloody bank robbery in Cabuyao, Laguna, two weeks ago killed a man and arrested five others in simultaneous operations in the province and in Batangas, Thursday.

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said the government remains optimistic that the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, will reduce the penalty of Filipino migrant workers May Vecina and Marilou Ranario, who have been sentenced to die by hanging.

ELECTIONS Commissioner Romeo Brawner succumbed to a heart attack Thursday while he was confined at a hospital in Quezon City, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced.