MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled in favor of the More Electric and Power Corporation's (MORE) takeover of the operations and assets of the Panay Electric Company (PECO) which supplies power in Iloilo City.
"In granting the petitions, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Regional Trial Court of Mandaluyong City Branch 209 in Civil Case No. R-MND-19-00571, and declared Section 10 and 17 of RA (Republic Act) No. 11212 constitutional," SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka said in a statement Wednesday.
The said provisions authorized MORE's takeover upon payment of just compensation on all facilities and property necessary to distribute electricity to end-users in the area and provides for the transition of operations from PECO whose franchise expired last year after supplying power in the city for 95 years.
The SC ruling reverses the Mandaluyong court's decision which said PECO is not obliged to sell its assets to MORE.
In March 2019, the Court of Appeals (CA) also voided the lower court's temporary restraining order preventing MORE's takeover of PECO's assets.
In February last year, President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11212 granting the MORE firm owned by billionaire Enrique Razon a 25-year power distribution franchise in Iloilo City. (PNA)
