By Victor V. Saulon
Sub-Editor

THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) has asked the House of Representatives to reconsider its decision to approve a budget of only P1,000 for the agency for 2018.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ERC said it respects the lawmakers’ approval of its budget after the House inquiry the other day, but it asked them to reconsider their decision.

“We trust that our representatives will reconsider the agency’s budget for the welfare of the more than 300 ERC employees and, more importantly, the consuming public,” the ERC said.

The agency also said that the “entire ERC work force is committed to ensure the delivery of its responsibility of providing efficient public service to the Filipino people with utmost integrity and professionalism.”

Separately, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian has asked the same lawmakers to reconsider their move.

“The ERC plays an indispensable role in the energy sector as its foremost regulatory institution. I fear that this budget cut will send a bad signal to energy investors and breed uncertainty in terms of electricity supply and power rates,” said Mr. Gatchalian, the chairman of the Senate energy committee.

He said the decision to drastically cut the ERC budget might have “potentially devastating impact on the stability of the power sector.”

His comments also came a day after the House approved the measly budget of the ERC, which he said originally requested an allocation of P365 million to fund its operations next year.

Mr. Gatchalian expressed concern that the “massive budget cut would severely hamper” the ERC’s ability to fulfill its functions. The ERC is responsible for approving power rates and issuing required permits to move pending power development projects.

He also cited the effect of the budget cut on the rank-and-file employees of ERC, noting that the P365 million deleted from the budget of the regulatory body included a P14-million appropriation for retirement and life insurance benefits.

“It would be better to aggressively pursue administrative and criminal charges against erring ERC officials instead of punishing the entire agency as a whole for the sins of the higher-ups,” Mr. Gatchalian said.

He said several cases against ERC Chairman Jose Vicente B. Salazar and the four ERC commissioners are already pending before various bodies.

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