BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The issue over the proposed joint venture by conglomerate Ignite Power is heating up here as actual temperatures soar beyond normal range with the start of summer in this highly-urbanized provincial capital of more than a million people.
“We haven’t seen the offer,” Leonard Guilaran, an auditor for seven years of Central Negros Electric Cooperative, told DNX but said the two workers unions – the rank-and-file and supervisory ones – are already opposed to a joint venture with Ignite Power after “hearing” about the joint unsolicited proposal from Ignite made up of the Lopez-owned Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) and Razon firm MORE Power that is now the private distribution utility in Iloilo City.
Guilaran, who heads the Responsible Supervisory and Confidential Union of Employees, said they “heard” about the joint venture proposal and, during a meeting with rank-and-file CENECO Union of Rational Employees (CURE) “sensed” and jointly decided “then and there” that the offer won’t be good for consumers.
Guilaran was interviewed for almost an hour by DNX as part of its Investigations reporting series, an in-depth, focused look at the JVA issue.
Guilaran defended CENECO, saying the cooperative is not financially ailing and has yet to finish its mission for rural electrification.
Watch video interview to know more.