The TRO as hurdle to development
The ERC denied SMC’s plea saying the terms of the PSAs between Meralco and the two SMC Global Power units should be honored.
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Daily TribuneThe ERC denied SMC’s plea saying the terms of the PSAs between Meralco and the two SMC Global Power units should be honored.
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When it comes to temporary restraining orders, local courts act on them like a bolt of lightning compared to the overall pace of the wheels of justice.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos took note of the Court of Appeal's issuance of a temporary restraining order suspending the South Premier Power Corp. power supply agreement with Meralco and asked for a reconsideration.
The Chief Executive appears to have had enough of the over-extended reach of the courts through the weaponizing of TROs.
What struck BBM was that the order was issued expeditiously with little regard for the "dislocations and possible price increase for power" that it will cause.
Considering the elevated inflation, a sudden upswing in electricity prices will be hard to bear for Filipino households that BBM hopes to head off with the call on the CA to review its "unfortunate" action.
The President underlined "the extremely deleterious effect this will have on power prices for ordinary Filipinos."
On Thursday, 24 November, SMC Global Power sought a temporary restraining order against the Energy Regulatory Commission's dismissal of its petition for a temporary increase in generation charges. It got the CA to order the next day that froze the quasi-judicial authority of ERC on the SMC Global Power petition.
The swift move of the CA in dispensing the court hold order contrasted with the overall snail-paced dispensation of justice in the country. Even President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., has noted the oddity and issued a statement expressing his hope the CA will reconsider its TRO.
The ERC denied SMC's plea saying the terms of the PSAs between Meralco and the two SMC Global Power units should be honored. The PSA provided for a fixed rate that SMC said had caused P15 billion in accumulated losses to the company. The contract does not allow for price adjustments to be passed on to electricity users.
The crux of what had transpired, thus far, is also the frequent subject of complaints from the private sector against indiscriminate court intervention on purely business matters.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, for instance, practically banned court injunction orders on government projects and warned the judiciary branch about liberally dispensing TROs.
A legal expert said courts lower than the Supreme Court should not be allowed to issue a TRO. Republic Act 8975, An Act to Ensure the Expeditious Implementation and Completion of Government Infrastructure, prohibits lower courts from issuing TROs, preliminary injunctions, or preliminary mandatory injunctions.
Section 3 of the Act stated that "no court, except the Supreme Court, shall issue any temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction against the government, or any of its subdivisions, officials or any person or entity, whether public or private, acting under the government direction, to restrain, prohibit or compel several actions."
Similar to BBM's concern about the effect of the court's indiscretion on the economy, former President Rodrigo Duterte had often slapped down lower courts issuing TROs as if they were sticks of cigarettes being sold on the street.
Two Presidents worrying about the overreach of courts must compel an action from the SC to fix the persistent hurdle to development —- the TROs.
