President Rodrigo Duterte will sign an executive order that aims to cancel the P10 billion debt incurred by the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (LASURECO), the electric cooperative supplying power to Marawi City.
National Electrification Administration (NEA) Chief Edgardo Masongsong said that in order to write off the debt, it will have to go through a legislative action.
“The debts – either it will be condoned, but that will be subjected to a law,” he told Manila Bulletin reporters.
Masongsong also highlighted that the electric coop will be put under government receivership.
“There’s a proposed EO now submitted to the Office of the President for government takeover. That’s a decision by a committee composed of the DOE (Department of Energy) and DOF (Department of Finance),” the NEA administrator said.
Masongsong added that an Executive Order is needed to rehabilitate the “armed conflict-wrecked” Marawi City.
An estimated P178 million allocation from Malacañang and the Department of Budget and Management will be needed to bring back the power utilities in the city.
“Definitely, there will be a special budget for that. We will ask for a relatively marginal amount of P 178 million because not all of Marawi had actually been ravaged,” the NEA chief stressed.
LASURECO owed the money to state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) due to supply procurements of the power utility.
In addition, LASURECO has liabilities to transmission service provider National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the NEA, and other power suppliers.
Writing off LASURECO’s debt was initially included in the prescription of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). However, the plans were not implemented as suggested.
