The proposed partnership between South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO II) and IGNITE Power and Energy Holdings Inc. is heading back to member-consumer-owners for a vote after a local court lifted an order blocking the plebiscite.

The deal could give SOCOTECO II access to private capital and technical expertise to rehabilitate its aging distribution system as the cooperative grapples with accumulated losses and system losses.

In a 12-page resolution dated 11 September, Judge Vicente Andiano of Regional Trial Court Branch 62 in Polomolok, South Cotabato, granted SOCOTECO II’s motion to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) and denied member-consumer-owner Eugenio Mangilaya’s application for a writ of preliminary injunction.

Mangilaya had raised transparency concerns over the approval of the conditional joint venture agreement, including the alleged failure to provide members with copies of the board resolution and agreement.

“What plaintiff offers is a conjecture presented as violation, and an injunction will not protect a right founded on nothing more than speculative claim,” the court said.

The court also rejected claims that holding the plebiscite would cause irreparable injury, noting that the proposed joint venture remains conditional and has not yet reached its final stage.

“The JVA remains subject to a final, independent stage. It has not yet happened. Until it does, whatever consequence plaintiff fears from it remains a possibility hedged by condition, not an injury demonstrable in the present,” the court said.

The ruling immediately lifted the 4 September TRO, which halted the first leg of voting scheduled for 5 and 6 September and was later extended until 24 September.

SOCOTECO II said the plebiscite could now proceed, although it scrapped the 12 and 13  September voting due to limited preparation time following the ruling. The remaining voting dates are Sept. 19 to 20 and 26 to 27 September.

A favorable vote would move IGNITE closer to becoming SOCOTECO II’s private-sector partner and advance the cooperative’s plan to tap outside capital and expertise to address its financial and operational difficulties.

IGNITE is backed by Primelectric Holdings Inc. and MP Holdings Inc. of Manny Pacquiao.

The proposed partnership has faced opposition, including a push by General Santos Rep. Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles for a congressional inquiry into the deal and the selection of IGNITE as private-sector partner. Her House resolution did not establish wrongdoing in the proposed transaction.

Her brother, General Santos City Councilor Cesar Bañas Jr., has also publicly urged MCOs to reject the partnership.

Meanwhile, organizers estimated that around 5,000 MCOs gathered in General Santos City and Polomolok on Friday to support the proposed joint venture, including nearly 3,000 at Plaza Heneral Santos.