The series of elections for members of the board of directors of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) began last Saturday in San Miguel town in an atmosphere mirroring that of the just concluded local elections.
According to a ranking municipal official, the two candidates – incumbent Director Marilyn Robles and retired FICELCO employee Emma Bueno – reportedly fetched voters from their villages using rented tricycles and trucks on election day, June 18, 2022.
The voters were allegedly fed with snacks, drinks and even meals before or after casting votes at polling precincts at San Miguel Central Elementary School and Mabato Elementary School.
It is not yet known whether any of the two candidates resorted to buying votes in cash like most of the candidates in the May 9, 2022 elections in Catanduanes.
Bueno won the contest with 718 votes against the 512 credited to Robles, who had retired as a teacher before she ran to replace her husband, former Dir. Jesus Robles.
Only 1,230 or just over 52% of the 2,326 member-consumer-owners (MCOs) in San Miguel district cast their votes.
The winner will serve for three years in the FICELCO board.
District elections in the FICELCO service areas were deferred by the National Electrification Administration since 2020 due to the pandemic, with only four directors left in the board due to the retirement or resignation.
Of the seven districts, three – District I (Baras/Gigmoto), District III (San Andres) and District V (Virac) – have not been represented in the board for at least two years now.
Power consumers in Virac, which accounts for majority of the demand for electricity, has not voted for their representative in the FICELCO board since October 2018 when then Dir. Alexander Ang Hung resigned due to a dispute with Sunwest Water & Electric Co.
On the other hand, then Directors Teresita Soledad of Baras-Gigmoto and Julian Soneja of San Andres stepped down from their posts in March and September 2020, respectively, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Dir. Rodolfo Vargas of District II (Bato), Dir. Robert Aquino of District VII (Viga, Panganiban and Bagamanoc), Dir. Marilyn Robles of District IV (San Miguel) and Dir. Arsenia Bernacer of District VI (Pandan-Caramoran) were supposed to stand for reelection in 2019 and 2020, with their terms extended due to the deferment of the district elections.
Vargas won his first term in 2007 and his second in 2010 but was disqualified three years later in his bid for a third and final term after guidelines prohibited government officials from running in the district elections.
With the ban clarified to cover only those holding positions with salary grade 16 or higher, he returned to win the Bato seat in 2016.
The retired official of the Provincial Agricultural Support Office is now the longest serving director of the cooperative with 12 years under his belt.
District VII’s Aquino, on the other hand, has completed two terms since 2014, was supposed to go for his third term in 2020 before the election was deferred and has now spent the last seven years as director.
Bernacer, a former barangay captain in Pandan, and Robles won their seats in 2017
Next up are the special election for district director in Baras on June 25, with the winner to hold the post for two years, followed by regular elections in San Andres and Bato on July 2 and July 9, respectively, for three-year terms.
Special elections for Virac and Caramoran-Pandan are set on July 16 and July 23, with the winners to serve only one year.
The last of the contests will be on July 30 for the right to represent the district of Viga, Panganiban and Bagamanoc for the next two years.
All the elected directors will start their terms of office during the Annual General Membership Assembly of the cooperative which will be held sometime this coming September.
One of the matters which will have to be approved by the members-consumers-owners will the management’s proposal to create the so-called Resiliency Fund.
According to General Manager Engr. Raul Zafe, the fund will be restricted for use only in rehabilitation of the distribution grid after a calamity.
He said that due to its lack of funds, FICELCO had found it difficult to begin rehabilitation of its damaged poles and lines after a typhoon as it had to wait for a loan from NEA.
In the wake of super typhoon Rolly, the cooperative reportedly spent around P100 million, most of its borrowed from the government agency.
Under the proposal, twenty centavos (P0.20) per kilowatt-hour will be added to the power rates for residential, commercial, public and industrial users.
For residential consumers averaging 100 kilowatts a month, they would contribute P20 to the fund.
On the other hand, big commercial consumers like malls, schools and government offices are expected to shoulder a big portion of the kitty.
GM Zafe said collection of the P0.20/kWh RF contribution would cease once the accumulated fund reaches the P20 million target, which would be enough to jumpstart post-calamity rehabilitation work especially in priority areas like population centers and commercial areas.
If FICELCO is unable to get funding for the rehab, it will be forced to streamline its operations to save on personnel costs by cutting in half its manpower availability.
On the other hand, Dir. Marilyn Robles of District IV (San Miguel) and Dir. Arsenia Bernacer of District VI (Pandan-Caramoran) were both up for reelection during the second half of 2020 but the NEA cancelled all district elections and Annual General Membership Assemblies by April of the same year.
After two (2) years of postponement of District Election due to pandemic, FICELCO will now conduct the SPECIAL and REGULAR Elections for Board of Directors to serve in your respective DISTRICTS.
District I- Baras/Gigmoto
District II- Bato
District III- San Andres
District IV- San Miguel
District V- Virac
District VI- Caramoran/Pandan
District VII- Viga/Panganiban/Bagamanoc
Of the seven districts, two – District I (Baras/Gigmoto) and District III (San Andres) – have not been represented in the board due to the retirement of its directors since 2020 while District V (Virac) has not had a director since then Dir. Alexander Ang Hung resigned in October 2018.
Both Dir. Teresita Soledad of Baras-Gigmoto and Dir. Julian Soneja of San Andres stepped down from their posts in March and September last year, respectively, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Umaga pa lamang ay nag-sumite na ng kanyang kadidatura ang ngayong nanunungkulan sa pagiging Secretary ng Board of Director na si Gng. Marilyn T. Robles. Bilang pagsuporta, sinamahan siya ng kanyang butihing asawa na si G. Jesus Robles na dati rin na Board of Director.
Pag-sapit ng hapon, ang retired-employee ng FICELCO na si Gng. Emma T. Bueno ay naghain din ng kandidatura sa pagiging Board of Director, kasama niya ang kanyang anak sa paghain ng kanyang COC.
Elections for all seven (7) seats in the Board of Directors of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) will be held this year, in a possible preview of the 2022 national and local elections.
General Manager Raul Zafe and Board President Dir. Rodolfo Vargas told the Tribune in the cooperative’s Marinawa office that the conduct of the district elections will be subject to the approval of the local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the local government unit concerned.
Of the seven districts, two – District I (Baras/Gigmoto) and District III (San Andres) – have not been represented in the board due to the retirement of its directors since 2020 while District V (Virac) has not had a director since then Dir. Alexander Ang Hung resigned in October 2018.
Both Dir. Teresita Soledad of Baras-Gigmoto and Dir. Julian Soneja of San Andres stepped down from their posts in March and September last year, respectively, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Dir. Vargas of District II (Bato) and Dir. Robert Aquino of District VII (Viga, Panganiban and Bagamanoc) were supposed to stand for reelection in 2019 but the activity was deferred by the National Electrification Administration (NEA) on March 21, 2020 after the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was declared due to the pandemic.
On the other hand, Dir. Marilyn Robles of District IV (San Miguel) and Dir. Arsenia Bernacer of District VI (Pandan-Caramoran) were both up for reelection during the second half of 2020 but the NEA cancelled all district elections and Annual General Membership Assemblies by April of the same year.
The cooperative has scheduled the election for the remaining three directors by July 21, 2021, but the schedule could change after the NEA issued a memorandum on the conduct of district elections and AGMA this year.
Issued last Dec. 9, 2020, Memorandum No. 2020-058 allows electric cooperatives whose 2020 district elections were affected by the cancellation to schedule the polls in 2021 along with the regularly-scheduled elections, provided they shall ensure compliance to safety and health protocols and other authorities, including securing permission from the LGUs.
“All directors elected in the deferred election shall immediately assume office upon taking their oath abnd shall serve only the remaining portion of the current three-year term,” NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong stated in the memo.
The deferred elections supposed to be held in the first and second quarters of 2020 will now be held during the first and second quarters of 2021 while the deferred elections for the third and fourth quarters last year will be held in the same period this year.
The regular elections originally scheduled for 2021 will also proceed, along with the virtual Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA), for which the cooperative is mandated to submit proof of notice to all member-consumer-owners (MCOs) as provided under its By-Laws.
Traditionally, FICELCO’s district elections in the recent past have been marked by vote-buying, with politicians as well as power industry players fielding or supporting their own candidates.
With campaigning for the 2022 national and local elections less than a year away, those aiming for the cooperative board seats are expected to seek much-needed support from such powerful backers.