Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy on Sunday called on President Rodrigo Duterte to place key officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) under preventive suspension even as investigators look into the controversial suicide of an executive two weeks ago.
Herrera-Dy said those who should be put in the freezer pending the probe results were the officials implemented in acts of corruption by ERC Director Francisco Jose Villa Jr., who last November 9 shot himself.
According to suicide letters that he left, Villa took his own life over the shady deals and preferential distribution of utilities involving fellow ERC officials.
Apparently, he was pressured to rig the results of public biddings for rich contracts.
“Director Villa’s death has serious and far reaching implications on many ERC deals, including power supply negotiations. He even sacrificed his own life to expose these corrupt activities, we cannot ignore it,” stressed the lady solon, who is House Assistant Majority Leader. (Ellson A. Quismorio)