High court split on MORE vs PECO case
THE Supreme Court appears divided once again in the controversial case involving More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE) owned by business tycoon Enrique Razon and Panay Electric Co. (PECO) owned by the Cacho and Lopez families.
The Manila Times learned that the court en banc has scheduled the case for deliberation and eventual voting on Tuesday.
Sources said the high court is almost equally split in this case which shall be resolved 19 days before Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta steps down from office. Peralta is set to retire on March 27.
His successor is expected to be named on the eve of his retirement.
Times sources said the voting may go 8-7 or 9-6 for either camp depending on the "swing votes" that certain justices may cast with the entry of the new appointees — Associate Justices Ricardo Rosario and Jhoseph Lopez — to the high court.
A previous decision resulted in an 8-6 ruling in favor of MORE last September 2020.
The original ponente, Justice Jose Reyes, retired in September last year. After the re-raffling of the case, Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang was designated as the new ponente.
It was learned that a draft decision was already circulated to the justices who are expected to come up with their respective opinions.
The high court initially resolved the case in favor of MORE in connection with the Iloilo City-based power group to be its distribution utility via expropriation proceedings in the province. The high court eventually junked the plea filed by PECO.
From the original group of 8 justices, aside from Reyes, the other magistrates who concurred with the majority ruling were Peralta, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Alexander Gesmundo, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Ramon Paul Hernando, Rosmari Carandang and Edgardo Delos Santos.
The dissenters were Justices Marvic Leonen, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Rodil Zalameda,
Henry Paul Inting, Mario Lopez and Samuel Gaerlan. Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla did not take part in the voting.
The case became controversial as it reached the SC on the basis of PECO's opposition to the expropriation proceedings initiated by MORE with the Iloilo City Regional Trial Court in March 2019 as the new utility invoked Sections 10 and 17 of Republic Act 11212 to expropriate the distribution assets of PECO in exchange for about P500 million in line with its 25-year congressional franchise to distribute electricity in Iloilo City.
Razon is pushing to expropriate the power distribution assets of PECO in Iloilo City.
MORE is racing against time because of the two-year deadline to begin operating, otherwise its franchise will be deemed automatically revoked.
PECO's franchise expired in January 2019. Shortly after, President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11212 granting a 25-year distribution franchise in favor of MORE.