Gingerbread

I wonder if he felt like bread in an oven that very hour.

Jaime E. Dela Cruz, municipal administrator of LGU-San Jose came to the ceremonial launching of Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for new power providers and the event was initiated by Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative or OMECO. Mr. Orlando M. Andres, chief for corporate finance services of NEA-MAG and Ms. Beverly M. Estella, Corporate Staff Specialist A of the Special Planning Division of NPC’s PTSD-SPUG were there last January 28, 2012 for the occasion held in said municipality in Occidental Mindoro. Dela Cruz came along with him a letter from the town's chief executive giving the former the authority to represent the Island Power Corporation (IPC) to “speak for or against” the CSP.

Both Andres and Estella stressed during their separate talks that two of the main objectives of the CSP is to reduce power cost and power reliability will be assured. They also conveyed that their respective agencies support the process. For his part, OMECO General Manager Alfred A. Dantis exhaustively discussed some background information prior to its launching, the Energy Development Plan and the legal grounds to the holding of CSP.

CSP refers to the process wherein a New Power Provider (NPP) is selected through transparent and competitive bidding undertaken by an Electric Cooperative (EC) to secure, among others, the lowest long-term cost of power and services, a transparent procurement process for the fuel used in the generation of power, environmental compatibility with the local area, and the most advantageous implementation schedule.

The meeting went smooth since OMECO chair Samuel A. Villar officially proclaimed its launching until the start of the press conference cum open forum when Alex del Valle insisted that dela Cruz should be asked about the present office address of the IPC in order for to know where the court summon should be addressed. Dela Cruz retorted that he is only there to speak in behalf of the IPC. This prompted OMECO counsel Jose Aguila-Grapilon, former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), to ask dela Cruz if the latter could receive the notice or summon but dela Cruz also declined.

In our huddle after the CSP ceremonial launching, all of us are wondering in what capacity did his principal issued the authorization, was it in his capacity as the town’s chief executive or as owner or former chair or president of IPC?

If dela Cruz didn’t present his boss’ authorization letter and came to the event as municipal administrator or a plain OMECO member-consumer, he couldn’t have been the gingerbread man from the king’s court…