The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) expressed its formal refusal to the request of Visayan Electric Company, Inc. (VECO) in participating as a member of its Third Party Bids and Awards Committee (TPBAC) in a letter dated March 5.
The letter from Visayan Electric dated February 24, 2021 requested for the nomination of a CCCI representative who will sit as a member from the captive market to take part in the Competitive Selection Process (CSP) pursuant to the Department Circular No. DC2018-02-0003 of the Department of Energy.
“The CCCI strongly upholds its neutrality in the exercise of any company’s management functions including the CSP,” wrote CCCI President Felix Taguiam. The said invitation is beyond its Charter which does not allow for its participation in any private endeavor of private companies.
The CCCI also highlighted that it does not engage in activities with potential conflict of interest to its advocacies to serve the Cebu Business community.
Despite this refusal, the CCCI is hopeful that its relations with VECO will not be prejudiced as it continues to push for the lowered cost of power in Cebu.
“We also anticipate that VECO will share with us their current data as they said that their website data is wrong – for us to validate on real time basis and as part of your transparency reporting,” added Pres. Taguiam.
The Cebu Chamber started its negotiations with VECO for reasonable power rates in Cebu way back in December 2019, and since then, its advocacy on low cost of power has gained the attention of various local and national government entities.
For more information, visit the CCCI Facebook page or email at info@cebuchamber.org.
