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Court allows expropriation of some properties belonging to former Iloilo power distributor

Philippines | Luzon

Court allows expropriation of some properties belonging to former Iloilo power distributor

By Tara Yap

ILOILO CITY—The embattled Panay Electric Co. (PECO) may lose its other real estate properties to rival MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) based on a decision rendered by a regional trial court (RTC) here.

The business office of Panay Electric Co. (PECO) in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap/File/Manila Bulletin)

MORE Power Legal Counsel Hector Teodosio confirmed to The Manila Bulletin on Wednesday, October 7, that RTC Branch 24 has granted the petition of MORE to include other properties of PECO in the expropriation case over power distribution assets in Iloilo City.

In a September 24 court decision, Judge Nestle Go allowed the expropriation of PECO’s main business office, staff houses, and the canteen at its main office along Gen. Luna St.

The court also granted expropriation of PECO’s 769-square-meter lot along General Hughes and a 2,401-square-meter lot used as pole stockyard along Diversion Road.

In a 22-page decision, Go found PECO’s other properties “necessary for the maintenance and operation of the distribution systems”.

To recall, it was last February 28 when the sheriff implemented the writ of possession (WOP) that led to MORE Power taking physical possession of PECO’s substations.

The WOP was implemented as stipulated in the February 2019 law that granted MORE Power’s congressional franchise as the new power distributor in Iloilo City.

Meanwhile, MORE Power has yet to take possession of the other real estate properties of PECO as Go has currently held the order in abeyance.

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