FROM THE MAIL | Nordeco’s filing before Supreme Court: A last ditch effort to extend poor power services in DavNor, DavOro

THE DAVAO Consumer Movement asserts that Republic Act 12144 is constitutionally sound, backed by the intent of the legislators who crafted the Senate Bill 2888 and House Bill 11072, and consistent with the previous ruling of the Supreme Court on electric cooperatives.

Last week, the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative (Nordeco) filed before the Supreme Court a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition with Prayer for Writ of Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order to declare Republic Act 12144 as “unconstitutional.”

Nordeco claims that RA 12144 is unconstitutional because it “is legally flawed as it violates the due process clause of the 1987 Constitution, among other infirmities” and “to defend its existing franchises and the government’s total electrification program by 2028.”

We doubt that the legislative process in crafting RA 12144 did not undergo due process, considering Nordeco has been given the platform to air their side in congressional and senate hearings. Every detail has been scrutinized to allow lawmakers to craft a law that seeks to improve the power situation of Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro.

More importantly, the voice of the people is clear. On social media and on the ground, there is clamor for a shift in the power service in the two provinces. In a survey we commissioned, 97% of respondents in Davao del Norte and 80% in Davao de Oro support the change in power provider in the two provinces. Thus, this alone trumps the need for “due process” as the people have spoken.

We would also like to point out that the Supreme Court themselves have already issued a ruling on electric cooperatives claiming exclusive franchises.