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By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
THE Department of Justice has already issued
summons to top officials of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in
connection with the P889-million large-scale estafa case filed
against them by a consumer group.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said Tuesday the
panel of prosecutors, headed by Cagayan de Oro Regional State
Prosecutor Jaime Umpa, is set to start their preliminary
investigation soon.
“The panel had begun issuing subpoenas to the
respondents,” Gonzalez said, adding that Umpa is arriving in
Manila this week.
The panel of prosecutors has set its preliminary
investigation on July 8. It also ordered the accused Meralco
officials to submit their counter-affidavits.
Summoned by the Justice department are Meralco
chairman and chief executive officer Manuel Lopez, Jesus Francisco,
president, and all the members of the firm’s 2006 board of
directors, namely: Arthur Defensor Jr., Gregory Domingo, Octavio
Victor Espiritu, Christian Monsod, Federico Puno, Washington SyCip,
Emilio Vicens, Francisco Viray and Cesar Virata.
Also named in the complaint were Daniel Tagaza,
executive vice president and chief financial officer; 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.
Gonzalez said he named Umpa to head the panel of
prosecutors to dispel allegations of partiality.
“We named a prosecutor from Mindanao so that
there would no accusations of partiality,” Gonzalez said.
Charges of alleged misappropriation
The National Association of Electricity
Consumers for Reforms filed the syndicated estafa case against the
Meralco officials, over the electric firm’s alleged
misappropriation of at least P889 million in interest earned from
the meter and bill deposits of consumers.
The association claimed that the P889 million
had been declared by the company as automatic income for its
stockholders as shown in the company’s 2006 financial statements.
The consumer group said the conversion was
illegal, constituting large-scale estafa because the money is 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.
Meralco has denied the allegations, saying that
they are ready to answer the charges in court.
Large-scale estafa is a nonbailable offense
under the Revised Penal Code.
The case stemmed from an Energy Regulatory
Commission ruling in 1995 that said the interest rate for the meter
and bill deposits for Meralco customers should be 10 percent.
Meralco has been contesting this 10 percent, insisting that it
should only be 6 percent.
The Supreme Court ordered Meralco in 2003 to
refund P30 billion of its income tax which it passed on to consumers
from 1994 to 2002. In 2004, the High Court also disallowed a
provisional increase Meralco charged to its customers without the
benefit of public hearings.
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