- GILBERT BAYORAN
Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Judge Maria Lina Gonzaga lifted June 30 the 72-hour Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) granted June 29 on the Joint Venture Agreement between the Central Negros Electric Cooperative and Primelectric Holdings Inc.
Ceneco acting general manager, Atty. Arnel Lapore, however, said that the suspension of the JVA plebiscite set for July 1 and 2, as he earlier announced, will be sustained.
Gonzaga said that Ceneco, through counsel Eduardo Padios, filed a motion for reconsideration on the TRO order.
The Court noted from the submitted documents that discussions on the JVA were done over various radio stations in Bacolod City from March 2023 up to the present, the judge said.
Several newspapers also certified that the proposed JVA was published and discussed in various news articles and publications, also from March up to the present, she added.
With such compliance, the TRO issued on June 29 on the holding of the July 1 plebiscite is lifted, Gonzaga said.
But the hearing on the preliminary injunction petition scheduled on July 3 stands, she added.
Lapore said that Ceneco decided to defer the July 1 and 2 JVA plebiscite schedule to avoid confusion among consumer-members of the electric cooperative.
But it will proceed as scheduled on July 8 and 9, he added.
As to the possible extension of the plebiscite, it will be decided by the National Electrification Administration if there is a request, Lapore said.
During the first two days of the JVA plebiscite on June 24 and 25, there were 27,741 member-consumers, who voted “Yes” to the JVA, or 78 percent of those who cast their votes, the Overall Plebiscite Committee said.
A total of 192,188 Ceneco member-consumers from Bacolod, Talisay, Silay, Bago, Murcia, and Don Salvador Benedicto, are eligible to vote.
Lapore said they need to get 100,000 votes for the JVA to be approved, adding he is optimistic that they will be able to reach that number./GB
