Salient Points By:Tony Abejo

Dangerous design                   Political intervention on electric cooperative operations is deem unhealthy because politics in this country is dirty.                 It has been observed in many instances that a business that faces political intervention will be bankrupt.                 The current conflict between the Board of Directors (BODs) under President  Reinario Bihag and the management under GM Resnol Torres which according to source has allegedly been directed by a top politician in the province will play havoc to the electric coop even though it ranked number 5 among the 119 electric cooperatives as the best in the country.                                                Through GM Torres outstanding management, LANECO for 20 years has been always at the top as the most outstanding electric cooperative.                 But the current conflict with the board will surely affect the coop standing though the National Electrification Administration (NEA) steps-in taking over the investigation.                 NEA set the hearing of the case on February 10 after failing to reconcile the warring groups last week.                 The Board which filed an amended complaint against Torres is vent of prosecuting Torres until the end, while Torres also filed cases against the Board for falsification of official documents, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the interest to the cooperative docketed as Administrative Case No. 01-12-10 at the NEA.                 The case filed against GM Torres stemmed on an attempt by a representative of Sumai International, a company that supplied electrical materials to the electric cooperatives in the country to encash a postdated check paid by LANECO to the said supplier to Kapatagan Mayor Benjie Baguio who happened to be a cousin of Kapatagan LANECO BOD Claire Elumer.                 They issued preventive suspension against Torres last month preventing him to sign checks for salaries and wages, payments for power bills to NGCP and GENCO including amortization on their loans and other payables of LANECO in their operations, believing that Torres benefited the transaction between SUMAI and the electric coop.                 The board later holds in abeyance Torres suspension on December 9 because he provided them the documents they requested according to BOD President Reinario Bihag.                 But Torres cried foul because according to him, he was not given the chance to defend himself.                 "Asa ka kakita ug imbestigahon nga dili ka patingugon aron pagdepensa sa akong kaugalingon,"Torres lamented.                 According to Torres he requested the board to have Kapatagan Mayor Benjie Baguio and Atty. Opay to appear during the investigation to shed light regarding the accusation because they are the personalities involved in the attempted encashment of postdated check. Atty. Opay accompanied the authorized representative of SUMAI International in approaching the Kapatagan town mayor, but the board rejected his request.                 Torres said that the Board of Directors violated his right of due process, seek remedy at the NEA Administrative Board seeking the suspension and expulsion of the 10 Board of Directors at the electric coop because only Kauswagan BOD Joseph Sanguila out of 11 who depended Torres on the violation of his rights of due process.                 But a top ranking employee of electric coop reported that the10 Board of Directors has hidden agenda of the present conflict.                 According to him, that a newly elected board of director of the coop that attended a training in Toledo, Cebu last year revealed to the general manager of an electric cooperative in Samar, that the current conflict in LANECO is allegedly a part of a grand design by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to gain foothold in LANECO.                 CDA are using symphathetic government officials on their campaign for conversion of electric cooperatives because until now only 12 out of 119 converted from non-stock to stock and from non-profit to profit, from NEA-registered to CDA-registered. The 112 electric cooperatives oppose the conversion because CDA has no financial and technical capability to help electric coops.                 And CDA is now moving heaven and earth to have electric cooperatives converted and the current conflict that rocked LANECO is a dangerous design that will wreck the multi-awarded electric cooperative.   Is LaNorte capitol behind Torres ouster campaign? By MT News Network                      Tubod, Lanao del Norte---"An ongoing campaign for the expulsion of the multi-awarded general manager of the electric coop here is believed being waged by the coop Board of Directors," our source said.                 Lanao del Norte Electric Cooperative Incorporated (LANECO) General Manager Resnol Torres has been subjected to series of investigation by the coop Board of Directors under President Reinario Bihag for malpractice even though the accusation leveled unto him is so weak.                 "It is harassment pure and simple," GM Torres said.                 The board reach to the point of subjecting Torres to preventive suspension though being put hold in abeyance last month.                 "It is a campaign to force GM Torres to resign as LANECO chief executive officer and we believed that the campaign for GM Torres ouster ie being orchestrated by the Lanao del Norte Capitol because Lawyer Jonathan Puno, the provincial legal counsel presence is there," the said coop insider said.                 "Though Atty. Jonathan Puno is not the LANECO BODs legal counsel, he served as the board legal adviser,"our source added.                 The Lanao del Norte Provincial Government under Governor Mohamad Khalid Q. Dimaporo is actively supporting the movement for the electric cooperative conversion from NEA to CDA.                 The LANECO management under GM Resnol Torres opposed CDA's campaign for conversion because of many defects.                 CDA has no technical and financial capability and if converted into profit from being non-profit, it will defeat its missionary objective in energizing the countryside.                 "Luoy kayo ang tagabukid kay dili na mahatagan sa kuryente kay dili man modungag ang kooperatiba ug mga linya kon dili makaganansya kon magCDA nata," a coop employee said.                 Through NEA-Electric Cooperatives, electric power has lighted the country-side even those areas that have no roads.                 CDA also fails on its mission because more than 80% of the coop registered unto it did nt survive.                 "Why join in the company of losers and leave the company of successful," a coop insider said.                  "Because of the LANECO management strong opposition for CDA conversion, the capitol initiated a campaign to oust Torres from the management," according to our source.                 The capitol openly declared LANECO as their enemy through Governor Dimaporo's message printed on its 37th Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) souvenir program in fact, during the 38th AGMA last May 30, 2010, former 2nd District Solon Abdullah (Bobby) D. Dimaporo openly showed his desire for LANECO conversion to CDA lambasting the electric coop management for not supporting his call for conversion.                 Torres who is strongly opposing the conversion together with the 111 electric cooperatives of the country earned the ire of the political family of the Dimaporo who control the political condition of the province of Lanao del Norte.                 "All the 10 LANECO Board of Directors are political protégées of the Dimaporos except Kauswagan BOD Joseph Sanguila," our source said.                 The political might of the Dimaporos is shown during the Lala District Board of Director's election, Governor Khalid Dimaporo led the barangay captains of Lala together with opposing candidates for the BOD that back-out for the BOD race and the winning candidate, Donato Calica visited the office of GM Resnol Torres to effect the withdrawal of the two candidates for the board.                 The said incident showed a chilling signal that the Capitol are now harnessing its political might for the conversion of LANECO from NEA to CDA at all cost.