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By Jomar Canlas and Angelo S. Samonte, Reporters
Jose Vitug said media has been unfair to the
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), as he broke his silence over why he
resigned from the utility.
As this developed, the Palace said it wants the
Court of Appeals to speed up the hearing of the case against Meralco.
Vitug, a former Supreme Court associate justice
and now chairman of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), denied
saying he could not stomach the bad things that were happening at
Meralco.
“In time, the truth will come out,” he
added.
He allegedly resigned because he does not want
to confront the “bullying attitude” of Winston Garcia, president
and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
Garcia, who has accused the Lopezes of mismanaging Meralco, also
happens to be Vitug’s former student.
“Winston Garcia was my student in San Beda
[College of Law]. You know it is really hard [to be in that
situation],” Vitug said, sighing. He did not elaborate.
He clarified that he was never Meralco’s
corporate secretary, as was reported in another publication.
“I am still the current chairman of the PSE,
so I cannot accept any position with any company,” he said. “I
was just a secretary for the minutes of the meeting and not a
corporate secretary.”
He said he resigned to concentrate on being
stock exchange chairman and dean of the Angeles City College of Law
in Pampanga, his hometown.
Palace pushes case
The Court of Appeals should expedite the hearing
of the case filed by the GSIS regarding the Meralco board election
to avoid hurting ordinary consumers, Chief Presidential Legal
Counsel Sergio Apostol said Sunday.
“I’m sure it [the case] will not end there.
This would be elevated to the Supreme Court, so this case will take
time,” Apostol said.
He added that if the legal battle continues,
Meralco’s stock would also continue to drop, affecting small
shareholders.
“The Lopezes and Garcia may not be affected,
and they will continue to fight each other without disposing off
their shares. Unless authenticity of proxy is not resolved, this
will continue to drag on, and I think Garcia will not stop,” he
added.
If Garcia succeeded in his intention to
scrutinize proxy votes gained by the Lopezes, Meralco Chairman
Manolo Lopez might lose his majority on the board, Apostol said.
“His leadership is under investigation, such
as the allegations of Mr. Garcia that Meralco entered [into]
sweetheart deals with their [Lopez] owned IPPs [independent power
producers]. This will have huge implications on Meralco’s
stakeholders.”
Apostol reiterated that President Gloria Arroyo
will not intervene in the Meralco board battle.
“She would leave it to Garcia,” Apostol
said. “He’s an independent-minded person and the President would
not intervene in their [GSIS] internal affairs. Garcia has the right
to fight for the rights of the GSIS in Meralco.”
He added that he’s not aware of the plan to
appoint to the Meralco board Romulo Neri, chairman of the Commission
of Higher Education.
Over the weekend, GSIS officials said they will
not back down on their bid to wrest control of Meralco from the
Lopez family, adding that there is no reason for the Lopezes to
celebrate.
On Friday, the GSIS filed two motions on the
Court of Appeals’ temporary restraining order on the
cease-and-desist order of the Securities and Exchange Commission
stopping the election of the Meralco board during a stockholders’
meeting. The appellate court had granted a 60-day order to Meralco.
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