General Santos City’s Regional Trial Court has cleared the way for South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II) to continue negotiations with Razon-led Ignite Power after denying a bid to halt discussions over the cooperative’s proposed modernization plan temporarily.

In an order dated 6 July, Judge Roel John M. Ladeza of RTC Branch 35 denied the petitioners’ request for a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction, allowing negotiations authorized under Board Resolution No. 28 to proceed while the main case remains pending.

The case was filed by six SOCOTECO II member-consumer-owners who sought to stop the cooperative’s board and Ignite Power from pursuing talks stemming from the board resolution, which conditionally accepted Ignite Power’s modernization proposal.

The petitioners argued that SOCOTECO II should instead pursue conversion into a stock cooperative under the Cooperative Development Authority, claiming this was a right under Presidential Decree No. 269, as amended by Republic Act No. 10531.

The court disagreed, ruling that the petitioners failed to establish a legal basis for the extraordinary relief they sought.

Judge Ladeza found no “clear and unmistakable right” to protect, noting that the law grants cooperatives—not individual members—the option to convert into a stock cooperative. He also said SOCOTECO II’s bylaws do not authorize members to initiate such a conversion.

The court further ruled that the alleged harm was speculative because Board Resolution No. 28 merely authorized negotiations with Ignite Power and did not prevent the cooperative from considering a future conversion proposal.

“The extraordinary remedies sought cannot issue on the basis of rights that remain subject to judicial determination or injuries that are merely anticipated or contingent,” the order read.

Judge Ladeza also noted that the petitioners bypassed the National Electrification Administration before filing the case in court, despite alleging that the regulator was compromised. 

The court said the claim was unsupported by evidence and deferred ruling on the jurisdiction issue until SOCOTECO II files its formal answer.

Ignite Power said the ruling removes a legal obstacle to discussions on its proposed modernization partnership with the electric cooperative, although any agreement remains subject to member approval.

However, the company said any final deal will still require the approval of SOCOTECO II’s roughly 300,000 member-consumer-owners through a referendum.