The four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) have asked Malacañang to remove the agency’s chairman, who had been placed on a 90-day preventive suspension from office.
ERC commissioners Alfredo Non, Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Josefina Patricia Magpale-Asirit and Geronimo Sta. Ana formally asked the Office of the President to order Jose Vicenter Salazar’s removal from office with finality.
“Respondent Salazar ought to be found guilty of charges mentioned in his suspension order and, as a consequence, should be removed from office,” the commissioners said in their 42-page formal reply to Salazar’s comments on the administrative charges filed against him.
“His actions and utter disregard for the rule of law placed the ERC in chaos, its operations extremely jeopardized with the problems brought about by the irregular procurements and illegal appointments,” the commissioners’ filing dated July 3 stated.
The commissioners, when sought for comment, on Wednesday affirmed that they submitted their formal reply to the Office of the Executive Secretary.
“The ERC commissioners have submitted the pertinent and relevant documents to the Office of the Executive Secretary. In this regard, the commissioners defer to the sound discretion of the Office of the President in its exercise of authority over the ERC to address and resolve the issues. In the meantime, and despite administrative challenges, the ERC assured all stakeholders that it will remain focused on performing its responsibilities and functions in fulfilling its mandate under the Epira,” they said.
Salazar came under fire when he was linked to the death of ERC director Francisco Villa, who took his own life last November 9. Villa accused Salazar of preselecting a bidder to undertake an audio-visual presentation project.
The commissioners initiated an internal inquiry after Salazar went on a personal leave for a month. However, the inquiry did not sit well with Salazar, who confronted the commissioners and demanded to stop the said inquiry. This strained the relationship between the commissioners and Salazar.
Salazar faces charges of serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, gross insubordination, among various administrative offenses.
His suspension, which took effect last May 2, stemmed from the complaint which accused him of deceiving Malacanang in filing his travel authority and designating somebody without proper authority as officer-in-charge while he was abroad.
Based on ERC Office Order No. 72 dated April 7, Salazar designated Atty. Ronaldo Gomez as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the agency while he is on leave from April 9 to 25. Gomez is currently the agency’s executive director.
The commissioners objected to this. Among others, they cited a January 24, 2017 order from Malacanang that commissioner Sta. Ana was designated as OIC of ERC for the period covering the April 9-25 and May 11 to 15.
Salazar was told to submit a written explanation with regard to the administrative charges. If proven guilty of the charges, Salazar could be removed from office.
In his reply, Salazar said he designated the executive director “merely and solely as a signing authority and not as an OIC.” He also said that the concurrence of the commission en ban is not required.
On other accusations, Salazar said there was no violation committed in the issuance of the orders pertaining to the extension of the term of FDC Misamis Corp.’s contracts with electric cooperatives. Also, he said there was no violation committed on several laws and executive orders cited against him.