The Court of Appeals has stopped the Ombudsman from implementing its Dec. 11, 2017 order that suspended four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
A resolution written by Associate Justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo halted for 60 days the suspension of Commissioners Alfredo Non, Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Josefina Patricia Asirit, and Geronimo Sta. Ana.
While a copy of the resolution was not immediately available, the 60-day TRO was confirmed by one of the magistrates in the CA’s 9th Division that issued it.
Since their suspension, the Office of the President has not named their replacements.
The CA said that the four commissioners would suffer grave and irreparable injury if a TRO is not issued in their favor.
Reports stated that the four commissioners were ordered suspended after they were found guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, aggravated by simple misconduct, and simple neglect of duty for allegedly allowing electric utilities to forgo the bidding of their power supply requirements at the public’s expense. (Rey G. Panaligan)
