Palace reinstates ERC chair Dimalanta

Malacañang has reinstated Monalisa Dimalanta as the chairperson of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Secretary Cesar Chavez of the Presidential Communications Office said Thursday.

Chavez said that according to the office of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Dimalanta was reinstated to her post since the Office of the Ombudsman already lifted the preventive suspension issued against her

“Pursuant to the 22 October 2024 Order of the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) in OMB-C-A-JUL-24-0066, entitled "National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms, Inc. (NASECORE). vs. Monalisa C. Dimalanta", lifting the 20 August 2024 order of preventive suspension issued against respondent Monalisa C. Dimalanta, the latter is hereby reinstated as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Regulatory Commission immediately upon receipt hereof,” Bersamin said in a memorandum dated October 30.

ERC, for its part, said Dimalanta’s reinstatement will stabilize the regulatory agency.

"The ERC welcomes the decision of the Ombudsman to lift the Order of the preventive suspension, as it would ensure the stability within the agency and the energy industry as a whole. The Commission also extends its gratitude to Officer-in-Charge Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres whose brief stint helped steer the agency through a critical period," the ERC said.

"With Chairperson Dimalanta's return, the ERC continues its commitment to fulfilling its mandate as the country's energy regulator," the ERC added.

Further, the ERC said that the Ombudsman order lifting Dimalanta’s suspension dated Oct. 22 stated that “after a thorough evaluation of the present case records, this Office finds that the ground which justifies the continued imposition of preventive suspension no longer exists. Therefore, the preventive suspension is no longer necessary.”

In closing, the ERC assured the public that “all operations of the Commission will remain unhampered and will continue to function to the extent possible and as required by the exigencies of service.”

Last month, then-suspended Dimalanta said the leadership vacuum in ERC could delay decisions of power supply deals of some 23 electric cooperatives.

Dimalanta was suspended based on the complaint filed by National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc., which alleged that she failed to regulate power rates, specifically involving recalculation of Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco’s) distribution rate..

Her tenure as ERC chief is until July 2029, since she was appointed to a seven-year term by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July 2022. — AOL/ VDV, GMA Integrated News