The freeze order on 14 bank accounts of Sunwest Water & Electricity Co. (SUWECO) is now considered lifted following the company’s submission of a Surety Bond as required by the Court of Appeals.
In a resolution issued Jan. 22, 2026, the CA’s Former Special Fourth Division headed by Associate Justice Rex Bernardo L. Pascual approved the Surety Bond filed by SUWECO and sister companies SUWECO Tablas Energy Corporation, SUWECO 2, and SUWECO-SORECO II.
The approval was based on the report submitted by the Division Clerk of Court, who verified the attachments to the bond posted by the movants and found them to be complete and in order.
Subsequently, the SUWECO firms, through counsel Chan Robles & Associates, informed the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Electrification Administration (NEA) that pursuant to the CA Resolution dated Dec. 11, 2025, the Freeze Order imposed on the 14 energy-related bank accounts is already lifted.
“(W)e are currently coordinating with the concerned banking institutions to ensure full compliance and to address any documentation, verification, or procedural requirements that may be required to implement the lifting of the Freeze Order,” it stated.
This development assures SUWECO can continue payments for fuel deliveries by its supplier, Unioil, which to its credit has not halted deliveries to the island through its local hauler, Powerzone Petroleum Products Inc.
It may be recalled that for two months now, member-consumer-owners of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) had faced the possibility of rolling brownouts due to the freezing of the SUWECO bank accounts.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said the bank accounts were materially related to the flood control projects of Sunwest, Inc., the construction company owned by former House Appropriations Committee chairman and resigned Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co.
On Dec. 24, 2025, the appeals court lifted the freeze order but imposed certain conditions, including the submission of a bond equal to the value of the cash contained in the frozen accounts of the company.
With Co, SUWECO president Ronald Ang and board directors all abroad, it was not certain who would be authorized to comply with the court’s demand or sign any agreement.
To make matters worse, the issuing bank cancelled the letter of credit that would guarantee SUWECO’s payment for fuel delivered by Unioil, forcing the latter to demand prepayment of the fuel orders.
SUWECO’s 22 diesel gensets were supposed to run out of fuel by evening of Jan. 4, 2026 but a timely delivery by the supplier prevented what could have been five hours of darkness.
With the guidance of the DOE and the National Electrification Administration (NEA), several options were explored to keep the gensets running, including allowing FICELCO to purchase 600,000 liters of fuel worth P35 million charged to SUWECO billings.
The National Power Corporation’s Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG), which covers off-grid islands like Catanduanes, also proposed that it be allowed to pay for SUWECO’s fuel directly to the supplier, charged to the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME) subsidy under which SUWECO is entitled to the difference between the True Cost of Generation Rate (TCGR) and the Subsidized Approved Generation Rate (SAGR).
DOE Secretary Sharon Garin later secured confirmation from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that NPC can be authorized to act as third party in paying off a creditor (the supplier), with consent of the debtor (SUWECO), subject to proper accounting procedures.
With FICELCO’s Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for a new power provider reset due to unresolved issues raised in a pre-bid conference last year, the cooperative has less than four months to consider possible options once the Emergency Power Supply Agreement (EPSA) with SUWECO expires this May.
Last June 2025, the EPSA led to a 60-percent increase in power rates from the previous P13 per kilowatt-hour to P17 as the electricity produced under EPSA is not entitled to the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME) subsidy.
NPC subsequently deferred payment of subsidy billings for SUWECO’s power plants, placing the private supplier in a precarious financial position and forcing it to scale down its operations.
The ERC has yet to rule on the motion for clarification filed by NPC on whether SUWECO is entitled to the subsidy for the energy delivered in excess of the approved capacity of 7.975 megawatts.
According to FICELCO General Manager Engr. Francis A. Gianan, the CSP and its Terms of Reference are still under review by NEA, with no definite date as to when it will be completed.
On the other hand, the cooperative is hopeful that the renewal of its franchise as a power distribution facility, which expires in 2029, will be heard by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises this February.
Last September 2025, the cooperative has already re-submitted to the committee the required 20 copies of its franchise documents.
House Bill 11180 granting FICELCO another 25-year franchise was passed by the Lower House on June 10, 2025 but due to lack of time, the Senate was unable to consider and approve the same.
Rep. Pressley C. de Jesus of Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (PHILRECA) Partylist, Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) Partylist, Catanduanes Rep. Eulogio R. Rodriguez and Rep. Jose J. Teves Jr. of Talino at Galing ng Pinoy (TGP) Partylist have assured FICELCO that HB 2494 granting it a new franchise is in their priority list during the final hearing.