By DAVE SUAN ALBARADO
Former Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim has expressed frustration with Bohol Governor Aris Aumentado’s silence on the sale of Bohol Light Company, Inc. (BLCI) to Primelectric Holdings, raising concerns about consumer protection and potential exploitation of electric consumers in Tagbilaran City.
Lim alleges that the private consortium led by SPC Power Corp., which previously controlled BLCI, has been exploiting electric consumers due to a lack of strong consumer protection from the provincial government. He claims that the consortium used consumers’ deposits to fund BLCI’s expansion while reaping hundreds of millions in dividends.
The former mayor also criticized the sale of BLCI to Primelectric Holdings, stating that it violates the Joint Venture Agreement between the private consortium and the provincial government. He argues that the sale should have been subject to a competitive selection process or public bidding, with the involvement of the Provincial Government of Bohol.
Lim questions Governor Aumentado’s silence on the matter, despite a resolution from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan directing him to take legal action. “What makes Governor Aris Aumentado mum on this matter? Has his mouth been stuffed with millions?” Lim asked.
He laments that the governor’s inaction misses an opportunity to terminate the Joint Venture Agreement, reprivatize BLCI, and incorporate consumer protection measures. Without such protection, Lim warns that Tagbilaranon electric consumers are being “sold like captive helpless enslaved people being sold for a profit from one master to another.”
Lim urges the public to hold Governor Aumentado accountable for his inaction on the BLCI sale and the lack of consumer protection for electric consumers in Tagbilaran City.
According to the former mayor of Tagbilaran City, the electric distribution business in Tagbilaran City is a most sought-after business venture among big conglomerates because there is no strong consumer protection provided by the Provincial Government of Bohol, leaving consumers quickly exploited for profit.
It was learned by the former mayor, through research conducted by his team, that BLCI, controlled by a private consortium led by SPC Power Corp., has been “milking” electric consumers of Tagbilaran City. For example, the private consortium did not infuse additional capital into BLCI to improve its services.
The P52.5 million from the private consortium contributed to BLCI was used by BLCI to buy the existing electric distribution assets of the Provincial Government of Bohol not for the expansion or improvement of the electricity distribution assets.
What was used by BLCI to expand the electric distribution system was the money coming from the deposits of Tagbilaranon consumers. According to the former mayor of Tagbilaran City, the electric consumers of Tagbilaran City have more money contributed to BLCI than SPC Power and the Provincial Government of Bohol. As of December 31, 2023, capital contributed by SPC Power and the company is only 52.5 Million, while the PGB contributed only 22.5 Million as against the customer’s deposit balance of 194 Million. The customer’s deposit is 3.7X the money from the private consortium. The Tagbilaranon electric consumers are the ones funding BLCI, not really SPC Power and company.
Worst, the 194 Million Pesos deposits from the Tagbilaranon consumers are earning peanuts. In contrast, the 52.5 Million from SPC Power and the company has earned more than 250 Million in dividends from 2001 to the present. While it is the deposits from Tagbilaranon electric consumers that are funding BLCI, it is the private consortium that is reaping hundreds of millions from BLCI.
According to the Mayor, what can’t be stomached is that the hundreds of millions of dividends siphoned by the private consortium from BLCI also came from the fees assessed by BLCI against the consumers. “Niluto sa sariling mantika ang mga Tagbilaranon,” said the former mayor of Tagbilaran City.
On top of the hundreds of millions of dividends siphoned by SPC Power and company from BLCI, the former mayor also learned that BLCI purchased power from coal plants affiliated with SPC Power. From 2015 to 2023, BLCI purchased around 3.7 Billion of power from a coal plant affiliated with SPC Power. SPC Power also profited from those transactions.
The former mayor of Tagbilaran City considered the actuation of the private consortium led by SPC Power as abusive to the captive Tagbilaranon electric consumers. The abuses only happened because there was a lack of consumer protection on the part of the Provincial Government.
The lack of consumer protection from the Provincial Government makes BLCI a very attractive investment for conglomerates like the Razon Group. Without protection from the provincial government, Tagbilaranon electric consumers could easily be exploited by any business interest to increase profits and cash flows.
The former mayor of Tagbilaran City is frustrated with Governor Aris Aumentado for being silent on the sale of BLCI from SPC Power and company, who is already done exploiting the Tagbilaranons, to another private business entity, Primelectric Holdings, who he believed will exploit the Tagbilaranon further. According to Dan Neri Lim, SPC Power and company was able to sell BLCI to Primelectric Holdings for a premium over its book value because the Tagbilaranon electric consumers are very lucrative because they are stripped of protection from the Provincial Government of Bohol.
The former mayor of Tagbilaran City is wondering why Gov. Aris Aumentado, the brilliant, who claims to be pro-poor and proconsumers, is silent on the sale of BLCI from SPC Power to Primelectric Holdings. What keeps Gov. Aris Aumentado’s mouth silent on the BLCI sale from SPC Power to Primelectric Holdings?
DNL said that the sale by SPC Power of BLCI to Primelectric Holdings without prior written approval by the Provincial Government of Bohol violates the Joint Venture Agreement between the private consortium led by SPC Power and the Provincial Government of Bohol. The breach of the Joint Venture Agreement calls for the termination of the said Joint Venture Agreement. The Joint Venture Agreement governs the relationship between the private consortium and the Provincial Government of Bohol when the Provincial Government of Bohol hands the operation of the electric distribution to the private consortium. If the provincial government wishes to hand the operation of BLCI to another private consortium, it should do so through a competitive selection process or public bidding.
The former mayor said that BLCI would only be handed to another private operator through public bidding and the participation of the Provincial Government of Bohol, the owner of the electric distribution systems.
According to DNL, the million-dollar question now is what makes Governor Aris Aumentado mum on this matter. Has his mouth been stuffed with millions? According to the mayor, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has ordered the governor to take legal action. Still, Governor Aumentado’s mouth has been shut tight on the matter.
What is very frustrating to the former mayor is that with the violation by SPC Power of the Joint Venture Agreement, there is an opportunity to terminate the Joint Venture Agreement and reprivatize BLCI and, in the process, incorporate consumer protection. But with Governor Aris Aumentado’s inaction and silence, he can only commiserate with the captive Tagbilaranon electric consumers. There is no recourse by the Tagbilaranon electric consumers but to hold Governor Aris Aumentado accountable.
Meanwhile, without consumer protection from the administration of Governor Aris Aumentado, the captive Tagbilaranon electric consumers are being sold for a premium from one private consortium to another, like captive helpless enslaved people being sold for a profit from one master to another.