The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. (PHILRECA) is opposing the policy revisions set forth by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) on the hiring as well as termination or service suspension of general managers (GMs) designated for electric cooperatives.

The aggrupation of ECs noted that two new memoranda were released by NEA this week, but these have been regarded to be in violation of prevailing laws in the power industry.

“We call on the NEA Board of Administrators and Administrator Emmanuel P. Juaneza to stop making a mockery of the law and national institutions, and to stop harassing and inflicting injustices to the electric cooperatives, the government’s staunch partner in rural electrification,” PHILRECA stressed.

In particular, NEA issued Memorandum No. 2021-055 to alter the policy on the “selection, hiring, termination of service/suspension for GMs of electric cooperatives,” while Memorandum No. 2021-056 delves with the “guidelines on the conduct of examination and interview for applicants.”

PHILRECA stipulated that “the revisions in the policy guidelines show blatant disregard of the declared national policy and intentions of Republic Act 10531 or the National Electrification Administration Reform Act of 2013.”

The group highlighted that “the most glaring and unwarranted revisions” include the bestowed power and authority on the NEA Board of Administrators ‘to screen, select and appoint a General Manager of an EC.”

PHILRECA members are similarly up in arms on the move of NEA to remove the right of the ECs to recommend their own general manager; as well as the power of the ECs’ board of directors to appoint a general manager.

The group reiterated “the process of selection, hiring and appointment basically removed the EC’s right to choose its own general manager, reducing the EC to a puppet – which is not even a government-owned and controlled corporation.”

PHILRECA lamented that “instead of empowering and enabling electric cooperatives to cope with the changes brought about by the restructuring of the electric power industry, NEA’s new memoranda removed all the requirements for a competent general manager.”

It further indicated that the required qualifications for professionals to become general manager of electric cooperatives had been thwarted in the newly issued NEA policy.

The ECs pointed out that “the minimum qualifications, requirements and work requirements for the applicants for GMs were significantly reduced.”

PHILRECA explained that for those aspiring to be GMs of electric cooperatives, the prevailing requirement would be five (5) years of supervisory experience – and the applicants must have educational background in professional disciplines like Engineering, Business Administration/Finance Management, Accountancy, and Behavioral Science, plus “proven track record in the effective management of a successful electric utility-related business enterprise.”

Those track record and qualifications of GM post contenders, the group specified, “are all meant to ensure that the general manager will be able to competently manage the cooperative.”