Judicial overreach
The law does not allow courts lower than the Court of Appeals to meddle in cases involving electricity rates and other power-related issues.
Daily TribuneThe law does not allow courts lower than the Court of Appeals to meddle in cases involving electricity rates and other power-related issues.
Using the power of the writ of preliminary injunction, the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court was able to keep the government at bay regarding its P34.4 billion claim with San Miguel Corp.
Eventually, the government was left holding an empty bag as it had to surrender the ownership of the mammoth Ilijan natural gas plant to SMC based on the independent power producer administrator agreement in 2010 that was supposedly part of the privatization program.
The government, through the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., sought to terminate the IPPA in 2015 due to the mounting collectibles from the SMC unit South Premiere Power Corp. that operates Ilijan.
Instead of challenging the PSALM action with the Energy Regulatory Commission, SMC did what was expected of it and sought succor from the Mandaluyong RTC where it has a 100 percent batting average in getting a favorable ruling.
The writ of preliminary injunction had been in effect since 2015 which means the case against PSALM's attempt to revoke the IPPA remained at the preliminary investigation stage for the past seven years.
Court intervention in private business disputes is a bane to investors in the country and in several fora, industry leaders had sought the judiciary's help to control lower courts from issuing injunctions and temporary restraining orders on business disputes.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte who spent a great deal of his youth as a prosecutor had criticized judges for "selling" TROs, saying he wanted to end the practice that hampers the implementation of government projects.
"It simply means money for judges. We have to stop it. When I certify (a project) as President, when everything is okay, if I give the go-signal, there is no corruption. No money changed hands there," Duterte had said.
Moreover, former Court of Appeals justice and erstwhile Leyte Representative Vicente "Ching" Veloso said RTCs have no jurisdiction over cases involving electricity rates.
Veloso, former chairman of the House justice committee, said the Mandaluyong RTC Branch 208 should have not entertained a case filed by SPPC since the dispute is within the realm of the ERC.
The Electric Power Industry Reform Act granted original and exclusive jurisdiction to the ERC on cases contesting rates and fees, as well as cases involving disputes between and among players in the energy sector, according to Veloso.
He added the law does not allow courts lower than the Court of Appeals to meddle in cases involving electricity rates and other power-related issues.
"RTC judges should not entertain such petitions. I will bring up this matter of intervention with the Supreme Court," he said.
Former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III opposed the transfer of Ilijan's ownership to SMC as he quoted the policy of the Duterte administration for private companies to settle their obligations in full before the government even entertains dealing with them.
Former President Duterte knew what he was talking about in being clear-cut against courts' propensity to intervene in financial disputes that to him is an instance of judicial overreach.