Former Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. has threatened to file plunder, criminal and administrative charges against Capitol officials over the provincial government’s decision not to repurchase a majority stake in the Bohol Light Company, Inc. (BLCI).

In a strongly worded letter dated July 9, 2024, addressed to Acting Governor Dionisio Victor A. Balite and Acting Vice-Governor Tita Baja Gallentes, Evasco and other members of the Center for Governance, Accountability, and Review expressed their opposition to the provincial government’s stance on the sale of BLCI to a private corporation in Manila.

“The undersigned vows to exert all effort to avoid the sell-out of the People of Tagbilaran to the profiteers,” according to the letter, also signed by Atty. Dan Neri Lim (former City Mayor of Tagbilaran), retired judge Suceso Arcamo, retired fiscal Macario Delusa, and a certain Willy Ramasola.

“If ever the Provincial Government does not heed our call to reopen, review, and reinvestigate the reacquisition of the 70% stake in BLCI, we will be constrained to file all the necessary PLUNDER, criminal, and administrative complaints against all the officials involved,” Evasco said in the letter.

The controversy stems from a June 26, 2024 article in the Bohol Chronicle, which reported that the provincial government had declined an offer to buy back 70% of BLCI from its private partner. According to the report, the repurchase would have cost the province over Php206 million pesos.

Evasco and his group argue that this decision is based on flawed calculations and ignores critical facts about the original privatization deal.

They claim that when BLCI was initially privatized in 2001, the provincial government received only Php52.5 million pesos for the 70% stake, not the Php206 million pesos cited in the recent valuation.

“It is scandalous that the local finance committee calculated the reacquisition cost of the private consortiums’ 70% stake in BLCI at Php206 million pesos when, in fact, the Provincial Government received only Php52.5 million for it,” the letter asserted.

The group (OGAR) also alleges that the privatization has failed to improve BLCI’s services, contrary to its intended purpose.

“BLCI’s services never improved. As we have all experienced, Tagbilaran City is plagued by frequent rolling brownouts,” they wrote.

Evasco and his colleagues argue that the growth in the electric distribution system since privatization is not due to investments by the private consortium but rather the result of costs passed on to consumers.

“The People of Tagbilaran paid for the expansion of the electric distribution system and the profits that the private consortium had amassed,” the letter stated.

The group is calling for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board) to reopen the investigation into the matter, claiming that the local finance committee’s report ignored critical facts in valuing the 70% stake.

“The Provincial Government’s abandonment of the effort to reacquire the 70% stake in BLCI is tantamount to selling out the People of Tagbilaran to the profiteers,” Evasco and his co-signatories declared.

The letter also raised concerns about missing funds and accounting discrepancies in the original privatization deal. They claim that of the 97.5 million pesos paid by the private consortium, the provincial government received only 75 million pesos, with 22.5 million pesos unaccounted for.

Governor Aumentado’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment on the allegations and threats of legal action.

As this develops, reports have surfaced that OGAR has been recommended for dissolution after the Regional Trial Court in Bohol ruled that the creation of the group is illegal, unconstitutional and waste of public funds.

Provincial Administrator Aster Caberte has been reportedly against the continued existence of OGAR.

BELATED LETTER

The Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) has received notice of a potential sale of shares in the Bohol Light Company, Inc. (BLCI), according to a May 10, 2024 letter from Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

The notice came from a consortium composed of SPC Power Corp., SPC Light Company, Inc., ARCC Investment, and Pure and Pam, Inc., which currently has a joint venture agreement with PGBh for BLCI’s operation.

Under the shareholders’ agreement, PGBh has the right of first refusal on the sale at a price based on net tangible assets or sale shares, as determined by an independent certified public accountant or merchant bank, Aumentado said in the letter.

The provincial government has 60 days to respond to the offer. If declined, the consortium can sell to a third party at a price no less than stated in the notice.

Governor Aumentado (not yet suspended) requested the Local Finance Committee and two BLCI directors representing PGBh to study the matter and prepare recommendations for consideration.

The potential sale could impact the operation of Bohol’s provincial electric system, which is currently under a rehabilitate-own-operate-and-maintain contract with the consortium, the governor said.

BOHOL LIGHT SOLD TO MULTI-BILLIONAIRE RAZON

SPC Power Corp. earlier announced the sale of its nearly 30 million common shares in Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) to Primelectric Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of More Electric and Power Corporation, owned by tycoon Enrique K. Razon.

The sale, approved by SPC Power’s board, is valued at P6.67 per share, totaling P199.5 million.

The Cebu-based power company said the sale is in line with the terms and conditions of a share purchase agreement.

However, the company did not disclose the percentage of its stake in Bohol Light.

BLCI, a power distributor servicing Tagbilaran City, is 70% privately owned.

The remaining 30% is held by the provincial government, which is represented by two of the company’s seven board members.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) awarded Bohol Light the certificate of public convenience and necessity for the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of an electric service in Tagbilaran.

The certificate was valid from June 12, 1996, to June 12, 2021.

BLCI was also granted the franchise with authority to operate light and power services for 25 years until Oct. 19, 2025.

SPC Power operates several units, including SPC Island Power Corp., Cebu Naga Power Corp., SPC Malaya Power Corp., SPC Light Co., Inc., and SPC Electronic Co., Inc.

It also operates the 146.5-megawatt Panay Diesel Power Plant and the 22-MW Bohol Diesel power plant in Tagbilaran City, according to the company’s website.

Neither SPC Power nor Primelectric Holdings responded to inquiries regarding the transaction.