THE Supreme Court has ruled that officers and directors of electric cooperatives do not automatically forfeit their positions upon their filing of a Certificate of Candidacy for local and nationals polls.
In a decision dated November 13, 2024, a copy of which was re-leased yesterday, the High Court’s Third Division nullified Sec-tion 2 of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) Memorandum No. 2012-2016, which mandated that officers of electric cooperatives be deemed resigned upon the mere filing of their COCs.
The ruling, penned by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, stemmed from a case filed by Oscar Borja and Venancio Regu-lado, then members of the Board of Directors of Camarines Sur Electric Cooperative (CASURECO) II.
Borja ran for mayor of Bombom, Camarines Sur, while Regu-lado sought a seat in the Canaman municipal council.
The Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals ruled in their favor, declaring Section 2 of the NEA Memorandum inva-lid for violating the Omnibus Election Code and the NEA Char-ter.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, automatic resignation upon filing of COCs applies only to persons holding public appoin-tive positions, including active members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and officers and members of government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs).
In its ruling, the High Court clarified that electric cooperatives are private entities engaged in public service as electric distri-bution utilities. It added that while they are regulated by the NEA, they are not government agencies and cannot be classi-fied as GOCCs, as they are owned and controlled by their member-consumers, not the government.
Therefore, the High Court explained, electric cooperative offic-ers remain as private individuals despite the public nature of their function.
While the officers are elected by the members, they cannot be considered holding public appointive positions under the Omni-bus Election Code, it added.
“As the Court held in its subsequent resolution in Quinto v Commission on Elections, the power to decide to whom deemed-resigned provisions should apply rests with Legislature and not the Court. As this power rests with Congress itself, and it did not seem fit to apply the same to officers of electric coop-eratives, NEA cannot arrogate this power unto itself through its administrative issuances,” the SC held.
“In mandating that officers of electric cooperatives be deemed resigned upon the mere filing of certificates of candidacy, NEA expanded Presidential Decree No.269 and exceeded its authori-ty to implement the law,” the SC said.
It denied the petition for review on certiorari filed by NEA. Concurring with the decision were Associate Justices Al-fredo Benjamin Caguioa, Henri Jean Paul Inting, Samuel Gaerlan and Maria Filomena Singh.
